


The Neko By My Side

by KatTheRandomWriter



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Cat Ears, Cat/Human Hybrids, M/M, Romance, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-17
Updated: 2017-11-17
Packaged: 2019-02-03 14:04:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 22,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12749811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatTheRandomWriter/pseuds/KatTheRandomWriter
Summary: Nagito Komaeda was a lonely boy with no friends or family, until three years later, he meets Hajime Hinata, his first friend. However, when they became very close, Hajime died in a car accident, leaving Nagito absolutely heartbroken. One day, while visiting his grave, Nagito stumbles across a small cat that looks all too familiar to him....





	1. Cat...?

_I still remember that incident ever so vividly._

_"Hey, you wanna go get ice cream?" "Sure!" "Race you there!!"_

_"H-Hey..! H-Hinata! HINATA!!!"_

_"H...uh.....?"_

_Blood sprayed everywhere as a car collided with the boy._

_"No....."_

_"No.....No no no no no no!!!"_

Nagito's p.o.v.

I stared at the wall of my bedroom, my mind blank. I looked up at the calendar. 

January 1st.

I got out of bed and went out. As I opened the door, I looked back at the empty hallway. "I'm going out...." No response. I sighed and closed the door, going out. "H-H-Hello Nagito." I looked over and saw Mikan walking around. I waved and walked past her. I wasn't in the mood anymore....

_"My poor boy.... He doesn't deserve such cruelty... But with what I have left... I can only do this much..."_

_The young women stroked the boy's hair out of his face. He sat up and stared at her._

_"This is the most I can do.... Protect him as much as you can...."_

_"But what will happen to me...?"_

_"If his and your hearts link back stronger than when you were alive, you'll be restored."_

_".....Sounds fair..."_

I bought some flowers from the florist and walked quietly to a small piece of land.

On it was a small grave stone. "Hinata-kun..." I whispered. I set the flowers down by the grave and did a small prayer.

"Happy birthday Hinata-kun..." I said, staring at the ground. "I still miss you... I wish there was a way to send presents to you... I hope you're happy wherever you are..." Tears streamed down my face, and I didn't stop them.

"I-I r-really....m-m-miss y-you...." I cried into the sleeve of my jacket, heart full of sadness.

_"Meow~?"_

My head shot up and I turned over to the sound of the voice. It was...a...cat...? What is a cat doing here?

It had dark brown fur that looked spiky and its eyes were a lovely shade of olive green. 

_It really looks like Hinata-kun...._

It just sat there, staring at me. I felt very awkward and nervous. It came up to me and snuggled against my legs. I must admit... It was really cute.

"Mew...." It meowed at me, its eyes glittering. I felt a small smile creep up to my face and I picked it up, stroking its fur gently. It purred upon the touch, snuggling into my chest.

"You remind me so much of Hinata-kun..." I said aloud. "Mew?" "Maybe I should take you home... Are you a stray?" "Meow..." "Maybe that's a yes? Is it okay if I name you Hinata-kun?" "Purrr..." It snuggled deeper into my chest. "I hope he doesn't get mad at me..." I walked back home with the small kitten in my arms. 

"Maybe I should ask Gundam about this...."

*After he gets back home*

I dialed Gundam's number. He said he would come with Sonia, since she wanted to see the cat too.

"Meow~ Meow!" The cat sat down obediently on the couch. "You seem pretty well trained..." I said to it, poking its nose. It hissed and wiped its nose with its paws. I smiled at how adorable it was.

"Ding dong!!"

I went over to the door and opened it, seeing Gundam and Sonia. "Hey you two!" I greeted cheerfully. "Greetings human! Now. Where is thy fellow feline?" Gundam asked, crossing his arms. "Yes. I want to see this cat of yours Nagito!" Sonia said, eyes glistening.

I led them into my house and showed the cat to them. "What soft brown fur it has..." Sonia commented, going to touch it. Suddenly, it sprang up on all fours and hissed at her. "Hmm... How strange.... It appears to be hostile to strangers..." Gundam observed. "Huh? But it didn't mind when I touched it..." I said. "How peculiar indeed. HOWEVER. I, The Great Gundam Tanaka, know how to tame this small beast!" I tilted my head. "Wha...?"

Suddenly, he took out something from his sleeve. 

It was....cat nip....? WHAT?!

"Here young feline..." He whispered, waving the cat nip in the cat's face. I saw its eyes move, like it was twitching. I saw its paws move around, like it was trying so desperately to resist the urge. 

"MEOOOOW!!!!" It couldn't take it anymore and sprang up to the cat nip, bouncing up and down, trying to get it. "Meow! Meow meow meow!!" It constantly mewed with desperation to get the toy.

"Success! No cat can resist!" Gundam raised his arms in victory while the cat hung its head down low in defeat. "Hm... It seems to be a boy..." I blinked. "How...did you know that....?" I asked, confused. "I have my ways." She said. "However, I believe it-he, likes your presence more than ours Nagito..." Gundam said, crossing his arms again.

As if on cue, the cat meowed again and pounced on me, it caught me by surprise and I fell to the ground. "Ugh..." I groaned, rubbing the back of my head. "Mew..." He licked my cheek happily. "I guess you're right Gundam..." I admitted. "Are you intending to keep him?" Sonia asked. "I guess so..." "In that case, let's help you give your cat the best home he can get!"

*After a while*

"Thanks guys, I'll pay you back tomorrow." I thanked. "Okay! See you tomorrow Nagito!" I waved them goodbye and sighed. "Mew. MEW!" I felt a small paw on my legs and picked up the small cat. "I hope you'll like your new home... Hinata-kun." I said. It purred and licked my hand.

I yawned and went upstairs. "What a day..." I thought, putting the small cat into the small cat bed. I crawled into my own bed and closed my eyes to sleep.

"Mew.... Meow... Mew mew..." I opened one eye and looked down on my bed. It was the cat, he was scratching on my blanket meowing. I groaned. "What's wrong kitty?" I asked, stroking his chin. He purred and jumped up on my arm and climbed into my bed with me. "Huh?" I lied there, confused. He dived into my blanket and snuggled on top of my chest.

"He's....really really cute..." I thought, smiling. I seemed more at ease as we both went to sleep.


	2. School

Hajime's p.o.v.

_"Please keep him safe...."_

"Ngh....?" I stood up, shaking my head and looking around. "Huh? W-Wasn't I...just crossing the road with Ko? Why am I...?" My mind suddenly remembered the screeching car charging for me and I gasped. "W-Wait... What happened to me?!" I looked down, and instead of my hands, I saw paws.

"W-W-What-?!?!" I turned around only to see a tail, I ran around in circles like an idiot. When I tried to yell, all that came out was a...meow....?

"You gotta be effing kidding me right now." I thought. 

I'm a cat. A CAT.

"What the heck am I suppose to do now??" I thought frantically. 

_"You want to turn back to normal?"_

_"Wha-?! Who was that?!"_

_"That friend of yours... You were very close to him...."_

_"Ko? Yeah I'm close to him."_

_"Get even closer to him and you'll change back."_

_"What do you mean by that?_

_"Your bond with him. Make it stronger._ _"_

"How am I suppose to do that when I'm a cat?!?!"

_"That's for you to find out."_

I groaned and looked around. "Okaaay, what to do when you're a cat.... Um... I guess I should look for Ko then...." I thought and sprinted off. Man it felt weird yet normal at the same time to be running on all fours. "Hm... Where would Ko go at this hour?" I thought, looking up at the sky, it was still quite early.

"Maybe I can spot him walking around on higher ground..." I hopped up on a small piece of land and froze.

There was a small stone. With my name on it. 

"So I really am dead huh?" I looked down sadly. "Wait... What day is it?" I thought and looked all around. I spotted someone coming up the small land and panicked, diving behind the grave. The person who came up was...

Ko?

He was sobbing and crying. "Man.... I feel really bad for dying... Never thought I'd say that." I stepped out and just stood there awkwardly. "Huh? A cat?" I went over to him and snuggled against his legs cause I didn't know what else to do as a cat. He lifted me up and petted my fur. "This is working....well...?"

 *****Next day*

I stretched and yawned. "A good morning.... Still a cat but I think I'm getting used to it..." I thought, pouncing off the bed and looking around for Ko. "Where is he?" I couldn't find him anywhere. 

Just then, I noticed a small empty bowl and smacked my head. "Of course! He went to school!" I inwardly cursed. "Might as well right?" I found an window that was half-way open, jumped on the sofa and took a spring leap at it, getting out of the house way too easily. "Phew! Being a small cat has its perks!" I thought, going off to Hope's Peak Academy.

Nagito's p.o.v.

I stared out the window, looking at the floating clouds. "I hope Hinata-kun's okay if I leave him alone in the house like that..." I sighed and looked down. Suddenly, a pair of hands slammed down on my table and I shot up. "Huh?" It was Mahiru, she looked angry.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "What?" I asked. She took a deep breath. "Why didn't you tell me you had a kitten?!?! I love small animals!!! Can I take a picture of it later?!" I blinked and looked over at Sonia, who was scratching the back of her head. "Ehehe... Sorry Nagito, I had to tell them." She apologized. 

I sighed. "Why not... But be careful, he's pretty hostile to strangers..." I said. "Cool! Can I see it too?!" "I wanna see!!" I was soon swarmed by questions about the cat and facepalmed.

"I swear-" 

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!" 

I looked over and saw, who I honestly didn't expect, Byakuya Togami, running past our class screaming. "Byakuya!" Next, I saw Makoto run past, going after him. 

_"It's okay!! It's just a cat!!" "I don't give a God for damned care!!!!!!!!!!"_

I blinked at the word 'cat' and jumped out of my seat, running to the door. "H-Hinata-kun!!" The others behind me gasped. "WHAT?!?!?" I bent down and patted my knees. "Here kitty kitty kitty~" I gestured, he meowed happily and leaped into my arms, purring.

"Isn't Hajime dead?" I heard mutters in the classroom and chuckled. "You guys got it all wrong. The 'Hinata-kun' here, is my cat!" "Oh wow really?" "Hey it does look like Hajime!" "Awww how cute!" 

"Why'd you name it Hinata-kun?" Chiaki came up to me and asked. "Well.... He looks like Hinata-kun, and I found him on his birthday by the grave." "Wow... He seems nice..." She reached out to stroke his fur. He blinked at the touch and suddenly grasped her pinky with his paws. "Mew...." "SQUEEEE!!! Soooo cute!!!" Hiyoko yelled loudly, charging to take the cat.

He hissed loudly and pounced on one of the tables. "Huh?! What's your problem?!" He jumped on her hair and scratched one of her hairpins off, meowing loudly the whole time. "Hey hey hey!! Bad kitty! Down Hinata-kun!! Argh!!!" I couldn't control the cat and raced to the corner of the classroom. 

"What are you doing Nagito?" Chiaki asked out of curiosity while tilting her head. I took out a spray bottle full of water. "Drastic measures." I sprayed the cat and it hissed, getting off Hiyoko and falling on the table. "MEOW!!!!" "Down! Bad Hinata-kun!!!" He looked away, growling, like it was sulking.

"How in the world did your God damn cat get in the fucking classroom??" Fuyuhiko asked, poking the cat, who hissed him off. "I dunno." I answered shrugging. "The cat must be very fond of you and like you a lot to go that far." Peko informed. "Really...." My mind wandered off, petting the cat's head.

Hajime's p.o.v.

I winced at Ko's noogie. "Ugh...." I groaned, jumping out of the way. "I'm hungry." I ran off, the other students surprised and calling out to me. 

I went to the cafeteria and stared up at the food. Too bad I'm not tall enough to reach it....

"Hey!!"

I turned around to see two mean looking dogs, glaring me down. "Seriously?" I thought, raising an eyebrow. "What're you doin in our territory lil kitt kitt?" "Food. Duh." I said calmly. "Well, you're gonna regret mewin in me and ma bro's territory." "Who ever said this place was yours?" "Oh?? You sayin its YOURS?" "Nope. Just asking why you aren't barking the students away. "T-That's-!" "Chickening out? How sad for dogs." 

The duo growled at me. I yawned. "Talk about boredom." They charged at me sloppily. I jumped up high swiftly and kicked the back of their heads. When I landed back down on the ground safely, I turned back and stuck my tongue out at them. "Grr.... GET EM!!!" 

I turned around and saw five more GIGANTIC dog in front of me. "Welp." I thought sighing. Just then, my sensitive ears heard some tapping of feet coming closer and closer and smirked. "Hey doggies, wanna know why I like humans so much?" "Why?!" 

I stuck my tongue out an them and one of them lunged at me, scratching my side. I winced in pain, but I kept provoking them. "Hinata-kun!!!" Ko ran over to me and kicked the dogs in the guts away from me. He scooped me up in his arms. "Bad dogs!!" I spat my tongue at them again. "See?" 

"Ah! H-He's injured! G-Give him here p-please!" Mikan came over and examined the wound. "Give him to me." Gundam ran over to me and grabbed me, gently. I mewed unhappily at the fuss, but everything turned okay after the bandage was on. "Feel any better?" Ko asked, holding me.

"Mew~" I licked his arm. He laughed and brought me up to his face. "I'm glad you're okay. Please don't run off like that." I rolled my eyes but smiled anyways. "It's been a while since I've seen him smile." I thought, meowing happily.

_"....I guess I don't mind staying a cat forever...."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/305919421-the-neko-by-my-side-chapter-2-school


	3. Screw it

Nagito's p.o.v.

"Meow...."

"MEOW...!"

"MEOOOOOW!!!!!"

I jumped at the cat's meowing and shot up from the bed, like a spring. "Gah! W-Wha-?!" "Mew!" I turned over to the cat, who was sitting on my pillow, my alarm clock seated right next to him.

8:30 a.m.

Shit.

"I'M LAAAAAATE!!!!!!" I rushed around the house like a whirlwind to get ready. I grabbed a piece of toast to eat on the way. When I went to grab my bag, Hinata-kun started meowing nonstop.

"Why are you so noisy all of a sudden?" I asked. He mewed and poked my bag. "W-Wait... You want to come with me?!" He nodded.

"Wait. You can understand me?!?!"

Another nod, and it looked like he was rolling his eyes at me.

Okay... So I have a cat that can understand what I'm saying.... I sighed. "I guess you can come along, just stay quiet and behave during the lessons." Hinata-kun nodded and I let him jump into my bag and snuggle in. I zipped up my bag, but kept a small opening for the cat. After putting on my bag, I dashed out of the house.

Hajime's p.o.v.

"Jeez.... Ko's so freaking dense... Nevermind, I got the message through, I'm pretty sure I'll be showered with questions later. He still has no idea who I am." I sighed sadly and pushed the opening in the bag, making the space bigger.

I poked my head through and looked on at the rows of houses that grew smaller and smaller as Ko ran. "I can run at this speed too... I think."

*Later*

"All right class! Let's continue this lesson with enthusiasm!" Chisa Yukizome, our homeroom teacher said, smiling. I popped my head out of the bag, only to be squished back in gently by Ko's foot. I let out a small whimper and looked up.

Ko mouthed: "Quiet please." I sighed and just decided to sleep inside the bag.

I woke up after a while by Ko's hand shaking me awake. "Hey... School's over, you can come out now." I yawned, stretched and pounced out of the bag. "Meow." "Hinata-kun, do you want to go eat?" He asked. I nodded and followed Ko to the cafeteria.

"What do we have in the cafeteria that cats can eat..." I heard him mutter. I rolled my eyes and took a running leap on the counter. "H-Hey! Hinata-kun!" I ignored him and scanned through the options.

"Guess I'm stuck with rice... Man I wish they had fish..." I grumbled and went over to the giant bucket of rice, mewing at it. I noticed Ko's eyes widened and he asked the cafeteria lady to get the rice.

I munched on the rice on the table while Ko just sat there and watched me. "You're a really smart cat..." He commented, patting my head. "Well duh, I WAS a human." I thought, looking up at him. "....Maybe I could ask some questions for you." I licked my paws, my stomach full.

"Nod if yes, shake if no." He instructed. Ko looked down in thought on what to ask me. "Were you a stray?" I puffed up my fluffy cheeks. Small nod. "Are you fine with me taking care of you?" Big nod. "That was my intention from the start Ko..." "Are you alright with me calling you 'Hinata-kun' ?" My eyes twitched, but I nodded anyways.

"That's my freaking real name you dumb dumb."

He went on asking me questions and soon I got bored of it. "Meow..." I pointed at the bag. "You want to go back home?" Big nod. "Yeah... It's getting late." He picked up his bag and trotted off while I followed close behind.

*Later*

"And we're home." I mewed happily and jumped around the couch, cause that's what cats do. "Miss Yukizome gave us a lot of homework..." Ko exclaimed, sighing. I wandered around the house, finding my way to the bathroom. "Wow this place is clean." I thought. I decided to leave to check on Ko.

He was already seated in his study chair, scanning through the homework. "One good thing of being dead. No homework!" I thought, climbing up to the table and staring down at the questions he had to answer.

"To answer this question... Yep that's right. Wait... Wrong answer!!!" I meowed and nudged his pencil to the right one. "Uhh...Hinata-kun...?" "Meow!! Meow!!" "Huh....? Wait... This question... Oh, looks like I miscalculated." Ko patted my head as thanks and resumed answering the other questions.

It wasn't long till he finished. "Finally!" He cheered and raised his arms up in victory. I mewed. "I should probably go take a bath..." He said, getting up from his seat. I sprinted off ahead of him since I knew where it was.

I climbed behind the shower curtain and just stayed there for some reason.

I heard the bathroom door open then close again and took a peep.   
Oh. It's Ko.

He turned on the tap to the bathtub and I watched it slowly fill up.

..........

Wait.

I peeped out from the shower curtain.

Ko.... He was taking off his clothes.

I turned away, my face as red as a tomato. "W-Why is my face so hot?! We're both guys! Sorta..."

Next thing I heard was something dip in the water. Ko still hasn't noticed me somehow. I shut my eyes as tightly as humanly possible. But one of my paws slipped and I plummeted into the water with a loud shriek.

I wasn't in the water for long as I felt something lift me up. And there he was. I wish I had a camera in that moment.

Ko's face was a lovely shade of pink, and he was looking at me in confusion and embarrassment.

_"Y-You're not suppose to be here.."_

"Meow~!" I teased, meaning to say: "But I wanted to take a bath too..." Shame my mouth won't listen to me. "U-Um... What do you bath cats with... I don't have any cat shampoo... Um..." He was so freaking adorable...!

In the end, he just poured some water over me. I was surprised by the fact that I hissed at water squirts but didn't mind a whole tub of water!

After a while, he lifted me out of the water and got out himself, but not before draping a small face towel over my face.

When Ko took the towel and put it around me, I saw he had a dark green towel wrapped around his body. He looked really cute.

I tried to imagine what else would go well with the way he looked right now as he carried me out of the bathroom, but all I could imagine was a red rose in his hair... Yeah, that would be heaven.

I turned my head away once more when he was changing into his pyjamas. "Come here Hinata-kun." He gestured me over and I jumped into his arm, sniffing the nice smell of vanilla. Guess he uses vanilla scented shampoo.

I snuggled into the blanket while Ko went to switch off the lights. "Goodnight Hinata-kun..." He whispered quietly, hugging me gently as he dozed off to sleep.

Before I too went to sleep, a thought shot through my head and my mind pretty much broke.

_"If I turn back into a human... What is Ko going to think about me bathing with him?!"_

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ah screw it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This chapter was pretty funny to write honestly. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/306797728-the-neko-by-my-side-chapter-3-screw-it


	4. Assault

Hajime's p.o.v.

I woke up at the sound of Ko's alarm clock. "Jeez... It's so loud..." I grumbled and looked over at Ko, he was sleeping soundly. "Wow..... Just WOW." M y eyes twitched and I went over to wake him up.

Tactic to waking up a human 101. I went right next to his ear and took a deep breath.

"MEOOOOOOOW!!!!!!!!!!"

"A-Argh..!!!" I managed to startle Ko into falling off the bed, unfortunately, he took me down with him. 

"Hinata-kuuuun!!!!" He yelled, pouting. "Meow. Mew!" I pointed at his school bag and he sighed irritably. "Alright alright I got it. I'll go get ready for school okay?" "Meow." 

*After a while*

I wanted to crawl into his bag again, but Ko stopped me. "Ah, sorry Hinata-kun. You can't go to school with me today, there's going to be a spot check so..." I tilted my head at him. "How did you know there was a spot check today....? Whatever though." I thought. "Meow...." "I'm really sorry... I'll treat you to salmon later okay?" "Mew." "Then I'll leave now. Wait for me okay?" I nodded, mewing him goodbye.

I hopped on the couch and curled up into a ball. "Cats lives just consists of sleeping and what not... What the hell am I suppose to do???" Just then, I noticed a small picture frame on the desk and pondered whether I should look at it or not. "Meh. No harm done." I jumped up on Ko's chair and climbed up on the desk.

I froze.

It was a picture of human me and Ko smiling together. 

"Great... I just HAD to be reminded..." I thought, sighing.

_"Hey Hinata-kun..." "Hm?" "Can you promise me something?" "What is it?"_

_"Do you promise to be my friend always?" "Of course!" "Wha-! You answered so fast!" "I'll always be your friend!"_

_"Do you promise that you'll stay by my side?" "Yep!"_

_"Do you promise to always make me happy?" "Mmhmm!"_

_"Promise you'll keep me safe?" "Forever and always!"_

_"I promise to stay by your side, make you happy and protect you! No matter what!!"_

_"Even if I'm a cat now.... Even if you don't know who I really am."_

I sighed and climbed off. "...What time is it?" I stared up at the wall clock. 12:30 p.m. Wow, was I daydreaming for that long? I decided to spend the next few hours alone sleeping on the bed.

*Later*

"I'm back...." "..M..ew..?" I yawned and got up to go meet him. "Mew!" "Hello Hinata-kun, did you miss me?" "Meow! Meow!" "Here's your salmon little guy." Ko put the grocery bag he had with him away and I munched away happily at the fish. "Raw fish, you like that huh." 

He went up to his room, but before he did, I noticed something under his jeans. "Is that...a cut?!" "Mew!!" I pounced, completely ignoring the fish, and went into Ko's room. "Meow!" I meowed loudly at him. "Hinata-kun, that's enough, what's gotten into you??" 

"I should be asking YOU that! Why do you have a cut on your leg?! And it's fresh too!" I thought, going up to Ko's legs. He flinched and pushed me away lightly. "N-No..." He shivered. I growled and walked off. "I'm onto you Ko." I swore.

*Next day*

Nagito's p.o.v.

I'm not entirely sure if the cat knows what's happening to me, but it's better safe than sorry. I ran out of the house with my school bag without him knowing. 

"I definitely can't leave even a hint of this, even to an animal."

Just then, a hand pushed down at my shoulder and I stopped running. "Hey kid...." My breath hitched. "Oh no..." 

"You're that rich kid aren'tcha? How about a lil cash?" ".........." "Hey! Speak up!"

They punched me in the face. 

"Give it to us!" "Do you have a death wish?!" "Give up your heritage!!" "Useless!" "Why do you have the fortune?!?!" "You're not special!!" "Not fair!" "Worthless!"

I sat down in an alleyway holding the bruise on my face. 

It was like this ever since my parents died. The lawyers decided to give their heritage to me. All my relatives grew jealous and kept pestering me to give them the money. Some tried to bribe me, some threatened me, one of them even hired someone to try and assassinate me.

They'd even attack me, harm me. 

Blood dripped down from my hands and feet. 

_Humans are really cruel._

Hajime's p.o.v.

I woke up with a start. It was silent in the house. No sounds anywhere. 

"Ko....?" 

I hopped out of the window. "Bastard.... He didn't even tell me he was leaving... I worry about him." Running along the side of the streets was tiring, but I could handle i-

I saw a glimpse of fluffy white hair in an alleyway and stopped.

I ran over to them, and sure enough, it was Ko. "Mew??" He was sobbing. Blood was dripping everywhere around him. "Mew!!!" I yelled in shock. "W-W-What are you d-doing here?!" He asked, pushing me away. 

I frowned. "I can't do much as a cat, but...." I nudged his arm, trying to reassure him and myself. I ran off to Hope's Peak Academy.

When I entered the class, Chisa was teaching everyone intently. I ran up to her and meowed continuously at her. "What's wrong with you???" She kept trying to push me away, so I pounced on her and bit down on her ribbon, pulling it off. 

"H-Hey!!!" I ran off with the ribbon, and like I wanted, the whole class got up and chased after me. I ran back to where Ko was and sat next to him, mewing.

"N-Nagito...!" Mikan was the first one to run over. "W-W-What happened t-to you?! S-S-So many wounds...!" "I'll go get the first aid kit! You guys wait here!" Akane said, running off. "What the fuck happened to you Nagito?!" Fuyuhiko asked, shocked. 

"W-Why are you all....?" "Your cat led us here....somehow..." Mahiru said, turning to me. I mewed and went over to Ko, licking his wounded hand. "Meow....." He patted my head. "Good....kitty...." "You know.... This cat is quite amazing.... You are quite fortunate Nagito." Peko commented. 

"Yeah....yeah..." He picked me up and held me up to his face. "Mew!" I leaned forward and booped his nose. "Meow." "I got the first aid kit!" "G-Give it here!" "Is it fatal? Should I call an ambulance?" "H-Hang on, l-let me check his wounds..." I watched as everyone else crowded around him.

I just sat there. I know that that was all I could do. I looked down sadly.

_"If only I was a person... Then maybe I could do more...."_

Nagito's p.o.v.

My friends decided to take me to the hospital due to the loss of blood. After a while, my wounds were feeling a lot better, but I still felt upset.

"Alright. You should feel better in a little while. Please rest in the meantime." The doctor said. Everyone left me alone. 

I sighed at the silence. "There's nothing to do...." I thought.

"Mew..."

I looked over and saw Hinata-kun standing there. He climbed up on my bed and rested on my chest. I patted him on the head softly. "Purr...." He pressed deeper. "Good kitty... But how did you get help...?" "Meow..." I laughed, but it cracked.

"Mew....!" He frowned and licked my cheek, making me giggle. "S-Stop..." "Mew!" He made me smile again.

_"If only I could understand what you're saying... Then maybe I'd understand what's up...with a cat like you...."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/309544621-the-neko-by-my-side-chapter-4-assault


	5. Justice

Hajime's p.o.v.

I sat next to Ko, watching him sleep in the hospital bed. "He's gonna be discharged tomorrow." I frowned. "...I'm worried... He might get attacked again..." I tried to think of why he was attacked and how to stop it. I couldn't bear to see him injured like that.

"I need to find out... But for now..." I cuddled close to him and fell asleep.

*Next day*

"Mew..." I poked Ko's cheek, making him wake up. "Ngh...Hinata-kun..." He sat up and patted my head gently. "Meow." Just then, the doctor came in. "Alright Nagito Komaeda, your health is all fine so you may be discharged today." They informed. Ko nodded. "Okay..."

*Later*

Ko held me in his arms as he walked home. He was completely silent as he walked. "Meow..." He snapped back to reality at that and glanced at me. "Oh. Are you worried about me Hinata-kun?" I nodded. "I'm okay. Don't worry too much about me." He smiled, but I could tell it was fake. 

"Meow." "It's okay really." We finally managed to get home and he unlocked the door. I pounced away and went to the couch. "Hinata-kun, I'm going to rest for a while. After that, I need to go to Chiaki's house to get my homework." He said, going to his room. I thought about it for a while. "Looks like this is my lucky day as a cat." I smirked and went to rest on the couch.

*After a while*

My eyes opened to the sound of a door creaking. Ko had already woken up and was now leaving the house. As soon as he left, I ran off to his room. "Now. What are you hiding from me Ko?" I thought and looked around. 

I was struggling to open a few desk drawers, but managed to scrap a book out. "Phew! Okay this looks important." I nudged the book open and stared at the contents. 

"Hm.... It's the list of Ko's family... Wow, I knew he was rich, but I didn't think he was THIS rich!!" I exclaimed. "Wait. Ko told me his parents died a few years ago. Does that mean he got the heritage or something...?" I frowned. "His family tree is rather big, he has a lot of relatives..." I went around, trying to look for more stuff.

As I was searching around Ko's bed, I accidentally knocked the pillow to the ground. "Oh whoops. Wait huh?" There was a book underneath the pillow.

I flipped through a few pages curiously. But as soon as I saw what was written, I blushed furiously and shut the book.

"T-This is his diary..."

"I didn't think Ko would have one...." I frowned. "I don't want to pry into his private life, but I need to know what's happening to him..." I took a deep breath and opened up the book again. It seemed he just wrote normal things in the diary, but I saw one thing he wrote in there, it was recent as well.

_"Uncle Masaki threatened me... He said that if I don't fork over the money, I'll pay the consequences. I feel worried, but then again, I guess this is normal..."_

I gritted my teeth in anger and shut the book. "So that's what's happening. His relatives are trying to pry the money from Ko!!" Being the justice minded dork I was, I plotted a way to at least get one of those scumbags the beating they deserve. "But how can I do anything? I'm just a cat." I grumbled and left the room.

"...Wait. What if I get people to catch them in the act! Hm..." Then, I got an idea. I ran over to the storage room and crawled around in one of the boxes. "Come on..! I know it's in here somewhere!" I thought, frowning. My face lit up when I finally found it. I used my teeth to fish it out and held it in my mouth victoriously. 

It was a tape recorder.

"Now, I just need to get a recording of them talking or something." I thought. "Right. Now to see the family tree." I scanned through the book and finally saw 'Masaki'. "So this is where he lives." With the tape recorder in my mouth, I jumped out of the house and ran off.

*After a while*

"Finally here." I stood in front of a GINORMOUS house. "Jeez..." When I tried to enter the front entrance, I saw two guard dogs there. "God damn it...!" I growled. 

"Seems like you need some help there." I looked up and saw a black cat sitting on a tree. "Uhhh..." The cat jumped down and landed next to me. "You...belong to anyone?" I asked. They looked away. "I used to belong to the sucker in that house. But he kicked me out." "Really? Then you can help me! You see, I'm trying to give that guy a tad bit of revenge." "Why? What did he do?" "He harmed my owner." "Ohhh... That's bad... I'm in."

I smiled at the new friend. "Nice! My name's Hajime." The black cat chuckled. "The name's Kiko. Come on, I know a secret entrance to this place pass the dogs." She led me to a small hole in the back wall. "Squeeze through here." "Okay." I managed to squeeze my way into the house. "Nice!" I said. "Come on, let's get in there."

I ran along the long corridors with Kiko. "Sooo... Are you gonna tell me the plan?" Kiko brought up. "Well... I'm going to record one of the conversations with the guy and hand it to the police! They'll catch him for sure!" I said. "Hmm... Now that I think about it...He HAS been scheming a bunch of stuff." She said. "That adds to it." We finally stumbled across the man in a room.

He was talking to a shady looking man. I frowned and hid with Kiko. "Well, what are you waiting for? Record it!" I nodded and fumbled with the record button, until I finally managed to push it. "Yes!" I thought.

"Ksssh....." "So listen up. All you hafta do is kidnap this boy and torture him to hand over the money. Any amount. Just get him to crack." The man spoke, holding up a picture of Ko. I could barely keep my anger inside me as I let a small growl slip past my mouth. "That's all we need." I thought, stopping the recording.

"Let's go Kiko." I mewed quietly. She nodded and we ran away from the area. "Let's go to the police station." "Huh?? But we're cats! How will we convince HUMANS?!" Kiko exclaimed. "Don't worry. Once they hear the tape, they'll follow anything! Even us cats!" I was fairly confident in myself. "Well... Okay..." "Hey Kiko." "Huh?" "Thanks. You helped a lot." "No prob. Although..." I stopped and looked at her. "What?"

"I...kinda don't have a home so..." I thought about it for a while. "Actually, my owner has a friend that's good with animals. Maybe he could find a good home for you." I said. Kiko's eyes lit up. "Really?" "Yep!" "Thank you. Thank you so much." We ran off to the police station.

*Later*

"Meow!!" We meowed loudly at one of the police officers, who glared at us and tried to shoo us off. I growled. "Damn it!!" I thought. "We need to get their attention." I told Kiko. She smiled. "And I know exactly how. Just have your paw on the play button and set it to max volume and I'll do the rest." I nodded and did what she said. I sat there and watched what she did.

Kiko hopped up on a cabinet and snarled like crazy. "What's wrong with this cat?!" The police kept shouting and trying to swat Kiko off the cabinet. "Now!!" She shouted. I pressed the play button and set it up to max volume.

_"So listen up. All you hafta do is kidnap this boy and torture him to hand over the money. Any amount. Just get him to crack."_

The police all turned to me, eyes wide and mouth open. "Did I....hear that right...?" One of the police asked. I mewed and ran off with the tape recorder.

_"Follow that cat!!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! You know, I came up with the name 'Kiko' from right off the top of my head. Dunno how or why so whatever. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/311843721-the-neko-by-my-side-chapter-5-justice


	6. Human

Nagito's p.o.v.

"I'm hom-!" As soon as I opened the door, I felt a strange aura around the room, but I just couldn't quite place my finger on it...

Until I reached my room. I dropped my bag in disbelief. It had been almost completely trashed, but that wasn't what worried me. It was WHO trashed my room, WHY and WHAT they found.

My breath hitched when I saw my diary and my family tree book on the bed. I looked at the page the diary was opened to, and my heart practically stopped.

_"Oh no....."_

Hajime's p.o.v.

I ran as fast as my paws would carry me and I led the police straight to the culprit's house. "Psst! Over here!" I looked up to see Kiko perched up on a tree. "Get up here! You can see the action better from this angle!" I nodded and clambered up the tree.

The police surrounded the house, busted the doors open and shouted all the people in there to come out. "That's our cue! Snarl at the house owner and that assassin guy he's with!" I urged. Kiko nodded and we both leaped down from the tree.

"Honest! I don't know what you're talking about! Assassin?! I would never! Money? Of course not!" The man kept defying everything that was recorded on the tape. I snarled at the man, trying to fight the urge to just scratch his face with my claws. "Judging by the voice comparison of the recording to your actual voice, and the fact this cat here is hostile as a lion. I think I have the green lights to say that you're under arrest!!"

I sighed in happiness at the justice I made. Kiko followed me to Ko's house. "Mew!" I mewed, scratching the door. Soon enough, it clicked open and Ko was standing there. Strange... His face was paler than usual... "H-Hinata-kun..." He picked me up and stroked my fur gently. I purred under the touch.

Ko saw Kiko and raised an eyebrow. "Uh... Did you make a new friend Hinata-kun?" "Meow meow!" "I suppose that's a yes? Maybe Gundam can help find a nice home for them." With that, he let Kiko into the house. He set me down on the couch and went to call Gundam. "Wow... Your owner understands you?" Kiko asked. "Not really... He just knows I'm smarter than other cats." "Excuse me? What's that suppose to mean?" "Sorry... I can't tell anyone..." I looked down. Kiko eyed me suspiciously, but shrugged it off.

"Hey Gundam!" "Hm? Oh, you see I have a new cat here and-" "No no no! I was wondering if you could find a home for them..." "Really? Thanks! Sorry for having bothered you." "Yeah me too. Bye!" With that, he hung up and went back to us. It was only at this time he noticed a police car outside. His eyes widened and his shoulders stiffened. "Hehe. Don't worry Ko. Everything's alright." I thought, smirking.

Nagito's p.o.v.

My heart was pounding. If the police is here for what I think it is. And just as I feared, Uncle Masaki stepped out of it. He was handcuffed, one of the police had some kind of tape recorder with him.

The police knocked on my door, making me flinch. Hesitantly, I opened it. "H-H-Hello...?" I shuddered. "Excuse me young man, but this man here." He pointed at Uncle Masaki. "He confessed that he tried to hire an assassin to kill YOU in specific. I need you to be honest. Are there any other threats he's sent to you?" My throat fell dry. I didn't know what to say.

Uncle Masaki has been one of the most desperate people to get my heritage, he's harmed me many times. A normal person wouldn't hesitate to say yes. But for me, it was different. If one of the relatives was reported to the police and arrested, the news might spread to the others, and they'll panic and try to harm me even more. And besides... Would my parents really want me to send their own brothers and sisters to jail...?

I didn't know how to answer. "Meow." Hinata-kun peeped from my legs and stepped forward. The police's eyes widened. "T-That's the cat that showed us the recording!" I blinked and glanced over to Hinata-kun. "Is this your cat kid?" I nodded slightly. "Please kid! Just say yes or no and we'll have evidence!" My heart was racing. 

_What should I do...?_

"Mew..." I looked down at Hinata-kun, who snuggled against my leg and glanced at the police and back at me. I don't know why... But that gave me a slight boost of confidence for some reason. I finally made my decision.

_I nodded._

I watched as the police finally took Uncle Masaki away from my sight, away from my life. I sighed happily and went back inside the house.

Hajime's p.o.v.

I grinned from ear to ear, finally giving the justice that man deserved. I trotted back into the house with Ko. "Great job!" Kiko said. Ko picked me up and I snuggled into his chest. "So warm..." I thought, smiling softly. "I'm...actually really glad I got him out." Ko sighed happily. "...But... How did you do that Hinata-kun...? I know you're a smart cat but..." He lifted me up to face him.

"You know Hinata-kun...."

"Mew?"

"I don't know if you'll understand what I'll say, but i'll say it anyway..."

"Meow..."

"...I don't think... I see a cat in you anymore..."

"Mew...?"

"I think I see...."

_"A human being...?"_

I froze. "How does he-?!" I meowed nervously. "Haha...What a ridiculous thing to say right?" Ko chuckled. "Meow..."

Normally, I should be happy. Because I'm one step closer to helping Ko find out the truth but... Now that I think about it...

_Do I even want him to find out...?_

 *Nightfall*

I snuck out of the house and went to look at the night sky. "Why did I feel the way I did?" I thought to myself. 

_"You did a rather good deed today."_

I sighed. "You think so?"

_"Do you wish for a reward?"_

"Uh... What KIND of reward?" I asked.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain shoot through my body and fell flat on my chest.

"W-What?!"

*Later* 

"Ugh...My head..." I held my head as I opened my eyes. "What happened?" I raised my hands and blinked. "Wait..." I stood up on two legs and touched myself, felt my cheeks, felt my face.

_"I'm back to being a person..."_

_"Do you like this gift?"_

"Hell yes!!" I cheered and ran across the street, so happy that I was finally back to being a human.

_"There's just one problem."_

"Huh? What's that?"

_"First off, you only change at night. Two, why don't you look at yourself in the mirror?"_

I blinked and faced one of the store windows and gasped. I was wearing my white shirt and green tie, blue jeans and brown sneakers. "These were the clothes I wore on the day I died..." I thought, frowning.

_"Look at yourself a little closer."_

I stared at my own reflection. But as soon as I saw the difference, I gasped.

"W-Why?!"

_"Sorry... That was as much as I could do for you."_

I had brown cat ears sticking from my head and a cat tail sticking from my behind.

"And I only change back at night?!"

_"At sunset to be precise. I advise you to go tell at least one person. A close friend perhaps?"_

"Psht. You don't expect me to tell Ko do you?"

_"Not at all."_

I was so busy talking to the inner voice, I didn't see where I was going and slammed into someone by accident.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/317337146-the-neko-by-my-side-chapter-6-human


	7. Game time

Hajime's p.o.v.

When I opened my eyes to see who I had run into, my blood ran cold and I immediately got up and started sprinting away from them. "H-Hey wait!" I froze. "Apologies if this is a strange question but... Have I seen you somewhere before...?" I covered my mouth and tried to sound different from how I normally sounded. "U-Uh...No." "I-I see..." They got up and walked up to me. "My sincerest apologies. I just really thought..." They put their hand on my shoulder, making me flinch. 

"You just seem way too familiar... Forgive me." He grabbed my shoulders and flipped me over to face them. I stared into piercing red eyes, wide.

_"B-Brother..."_

_"Izuru..."_

Next thing I knew, I had been tackled to the ground in a hug. Izuru was crying and squeezing me extremely tightly. "H-How-?! I-I thought you- Why?!" I was getting uncomfortable with our position. "Um... I'd love to explain but you're..." I tried to say. "O-Oh, right." He got off me and held out his hand for me to get up. I took it. "How are you alive?! You were dead!"

I was waiting for him to notice the difference.

Waiting....

Waiting....

"Uh...Hajime...?"

Finally, he noticed.

"Where did you get cat ears and a cat tail?" He asked. "Yeah... About that..." "Oh boy... This is gonna be a long explanation..." I thought. "Let's go to your apartment first." I said. He looked at me awkwardly but agreed.

*Later*

"Sooo let me get this straight." Izuru was holding his forehead, confused and frustrated. "You were resurrected as a cat for some unknown reason and now you have to take care of Nagito to regain your human form?" I nodded rapidly. "Thank God he isn't flipping out of his mind..." I thought, relieved. "But... You are a human right now! So wh-" "It only happens at night, and did you already forget about the cat ears and tail?" I interrupted, facepalming myself. "Ah... I see. Sorry."

From the corner of my eye, I saw a glimmer of sunlight and gasped. "I need to go Izuru. I'm sorry. Wish I could've talked to you longer."

Izuru's p.o.v.

I blinked. "W-Wait-! Haji-!" Right at that second, a bright light suddenly shone, making me have to cover my eyes. When it died down and I was able to see clearly again, Hajime was gone. "H-Hajime?!" I looked around frantically for him.

"Meow..."

I looked down at the ground and saw a cat with dark brown fur and olive eyes. "H-Hajime?!? Is that you?!" "Mew!" My mind was practically blown at that point. "Meow!" He suddenly pounced on my windowsill and crawled out of my house. "Ah! Wait!" I tried to go after him, but then remembered what Hajime had told me.

"Oh yeah... He is Nagito's cat now..." I sighed. "I wanted to talk to him more..." I looked at the time. "...I suppose I could head to school earlier than usual..." I thought, going to get ready.

Nagito's p.o.v.

"Beep! Beep!" I groaned to the sound of my alarm clock beeping and turned it off. I clutched my bedsheet unhappily. Something was missing... Something that's always been by my side. I sat up in my bed and looked around.

_"Hinata-kun...?"_

_"Mew."_

I turned over and saw him peeping through the door. I smiled and walked up to him. "Here Hinata-kun..." "Mew!" He pounced up into my arms and snuggled into my chest. "I thought you were gone for a second there." I said. "Would you like to follow me to school?" I asked. "Meow! Meow!" He jumped up and down in excitement, making me laugh.

"Guess that's a yes!" I declared. I went to freshen up and grabbed my school bag. "Come on Hinata-kun!" I gestured him over. He meowed and leaped into my bag, making space in my books. I put it on and ran out of my house. I noticed Hinata-kun's head sticking out of my bag and chuckled.

"Brace yourself Hinata-kun! I'm picking up the speed!" I warned, my running speed going higher, turning to a sprint as I sprinted all the way to Hope's Peak Academy.

*Later*

I arrived at my class, beaming. "Hi everyone!" I said, going inside. Most of my classmates were already there. They greeted me warmly as I sat down at my place. I opened up my bag to let Hinata-kun out. "Oh, you brought your cat again Nagito?" Mahiru asked, walking up to me with her camera. I nodded. She smiled and snapped a quick photo of him.

Next, Nekomaru came up to us. "Aha! You brought your cat again I see! Has it been exercising well? Even animals need to be in top notch condition!" He boomed. "Ehehe, yes, he's been exercising and is very fit. You needn't worry." I said, smiling.

Just then, Chiaki stood up. "I DID IT GUYS!!!!!!!!" She yelled, making me jump. "Did what?" I asked, turning to her. "I bought a new record of 25 games at one go! Do you guys want to play it with me?" "Hell yeah!" "Of course!" "Definitely!" Everyone agreed, even Miss Chisa. So Akane went to get the big screen while I went to fetch the consoles.

*After a while*

I was walking with Hinata-kun back to the class, consoles in hand. Hinata-kun was dragging a couple of wires in his teeth, careful not to tear them. When we got back, Akane had already come back with the screen and everyone else was seated, waiting to play.

After Chiaki and a few others set up everything, we began to play. We were playing something called Gmod Guess Who. A strange name, but suiting for the objective. There were two teams, hunters and morphers. The map everyone spawned in had their own MPCS, the morphers had to change into one of those MPCS and try to blend in. The hunters had to hunt and shoot down the morphers. If there are still morphers who are alive after the time is out, then they win, if not, the hunters win. The map we were playing on had 3 types of NPCS. Monokuma, Monomi and Usami.

*Game mode* 

Morphers: Peko, Mahiru, Ibuki, Mikan, Gundam, Sonia, Nekomaru

Hunters: Nagito, Chiaki, Teruteru, Fuyuhiko, Akane, Hiyoko, Kazuichi

Not playing but going to be included: Neko Hajime

Fuyuhiko: Alright, where are you fuckers?!

Hiyoko: Heh, Mikan's probably so stupid she didn't morph haha!!

Mahiru: I may be a morpher, but that was mean Hiyoko!

Neko Hajime: *Sitting in Nagito's lap* *Notices suspicious movement in one of the NPCS* Meow! *Points at them*

Nagito: Hm? *Shoots them once*

Nekomaru: Shiiiit!!!!!! *Starts running*

Nagito: Oi!! *Guns him down* Can't run away from me!

Akane: *Randomly shoots and suddenly shoots Mikan* Eh? Wait a sec I hit one of you!! *Chases her down*

Mikan: Eep!! *Dies*

Teruteru: *Gets stuck in one of the NPCS* What the- Aw come on!!! *Tries to shoot it to break free but ends up dying* TOT

Chiaki: Hey Teruteru, mind cooking us something while we're playing?

Teruteru: Ah! Of course mademoiselle *Walks off*

*They play for a little while longer*

What's left:

Morphers: Peko and Sonia

Hunters: Nagito and Chiaki

Chiaki: Argh!! I can't find you guys and I'm down to five health!! *Suddenly shoots a random NPC and dies* AW COME ON!!!!! Ugh. It's all on you Nagito.

Nagito: I can't find you guys and there's only twenty seconds left!!!

Neko Hajime: *Sees two NPCS in a corner and tilts head* Meow...? *Grabs Nagito's controller with his teeth and uses paw to press the nuke button towards the those two NPCS*

Nagito: What the- Hinata-kun!!

*Nuke explodes at one second*

Peko: *Dies* Wait what?

Sonia: *Dies as well* Uh....

*Room goes silent and everyone stares at the cat*

_Oh my God..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/318175350-the-neko-by-my-side-chapter-7-game-time


	8. Plans

Nagito's p.o.v.

My eyes widened and I stared down at Hinata-kun in disbelief. "....Wow..."Suddenly, the door slammed open, snapping us out of our trance. "The food has arrived!!!" It was Teruteru. He noticed the silence and stood there awkwardly. "Uh... Did I miss something?" He asked. I shook my head. "Ah, nothing at all! Come on everyone, let's stop to eat for a while, I'm starved!" I said, trying to get everyone to stop staring at my cat. They all looked at each other, but eventually agreed, thankfully.

*Later*

"Thank you for the food!!" We all chanted before gobbling down on Teruteru's delicious food. Gosh, I can't get enough of it honestly. I looked over at Hinata-kun, who was munching down on his raw salmon. "You better not have put any doping shit in here Teruteru!!" Nekomaru yelled from across the room. "Aw... That's no fun." Teruteru responded, closing his metal case filled with weird medicine. 

I almost gagged on my food as I remembered the LAST time we took those trippy drugs. "Meow." I looked down. "Oh, you finished eating already?" I said, gesturing him over to my lap. He meowed and hopped into my lap, snuggling into my chest. "You're one smart cat, that I'll admit..." I mumbled to myself. "Mew." 

"Class! Class!" I looked over at Miss Yukizome and sighed. "Oh boy..." I stood up and clanged violently at my plate with my spoon, getting everyone's attention. "Thank you Nagito." She thanked me. "Listen everyone, a...friend of mine, gave us a small invitation to let us have some fun at a private pool!" She said. "What?? That's so cool!!" Everyone cheered.

"But... We don't have swimsuits..." Mahiru said, worriedly. "That's already taken care of! Come on everyone!" Miss Yukizome dragged us out of the classroom and we walked off to who-knows-where.

*Later*

"Wow....." We all gaped at the sight of the private pool in front of us. "All of you should go get your swimsuits and have a good time everyone!" Miss Yukizome said and hopped on a bench to watch everyone. "Woohoo!!!" Akane rushed to the changing room, followed by everyone else except me.

"I'm not really in the mood for swimming..." I thought, sighing and going to sit in a bench. "Not going to swim with them?" "No... I'm not really in the mood." "I see." 

"WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" I spotted Ibuki running straight to the pool and do a canonball into the pool. Some water splashed near me and Hinata-kun hissed, jumping away. I giggled and went over to him. "Come here." I said, lifting him up. "Can you not swim Nagito?" Sonia asked from the water. 

"Huh? Yeah I can, I'm just not in the mood." I answered. "Besides, my skin's painfully pale." "Well, suit yourself." She dived back into the pool, splashing me a bit.

Hajime's p.o.v.

I was upset with all the water around me. "Argh... So much..." I groaned. I struggled to get out of Ko's grip and leaped back to the bench. Just then, I heard a snicker behind me and turned around. "Meow...?" I saw Hiyoko tug down at Ko's hoodie, "Uwah?!" And he landed with a loud splash into the pool. "Meow!!" I ran over to the side of the pool to check up on him.

He came up to the surface, sputtering out water, absolutely soaking wet. His hair was completely soaked as well as his clothes. "What the hell Hiyoko?!?!" I thought. Ko simply shook his head and climbed out of the pool. He sighed sadly. "What should I do...? I'm all wet..." "Don't worry Nagito, I think I have a spare uniform with me and Hiyoko will most definitely get severe punishment!!" Chisa said, glaring at Hiyoko, who cowered back. 

I twitched at how horribly wet he was. "God he's gonna catch a cold like that!" I thought, rushing after them to the boy's changing room.

"Right, they should be here somewhere..." Chisa mumbled, looking through the stuff. I titled my head at them and stared on. "Ah! Here it is!" She took out another boy's uniform and held it in front of Ko. "I'll leave to go watch the other students, you go change." With that, Chisa left.

"Huh... It seems just my size... What luck..." Ko said, staring at the uniform. I hurriedly turned around and stared straight at the wall. "Nopenopenopenopenopenopenope." I chanted to myself, feeling my face get hot.

*After a while*

I heard Ko laugh behind me. "You can turn around now Hinata-kun." He said, giggling. I turned around, flustered. He laughed and picked me up, stroking my fur. I sighed and buried my face into his chest. "Warm..."

We walked back to the pool, a few people were no longer swimming, but were just talking by the side. "Eeeeeeeeey!!! Everyone!! Ibuki's got an idea!!!" Ibuki suddenly jumped up and shouted, catching everyone by surprise. "Uh... What's up Ibuki?" Fuyuhiko asked. "We should totally have a slumber party tonight!!!" My ears pricked up at that.

"Um... Sorry, but I'm a bit busy then... I don't think I'll be able to make it..." Kazuichi said. "Oh! That's okay! We can just have it tomorrow night!!" "Tomorrow huh..." I thought, narrowing my eyes. 

*Time skip to dusk*

I looked over at a sleeping Ko. After making sure he was truly asleep, I leaped out of the window outside. Just then, the sky grew dark and I felt myself grow back into a human. 

"I need to find Izuru. Right fucking now."

I ran across the streets right to his apartment and knocked on the door. After a little while, it finally opened to reveal Izuru. "What is it Hajime?" He asked, gesturing me inside. "I can tell you are worried about something." He said. "Yeah... My classmate suggested a slumber party tomorrow night and if Ko takes me there then I'm DOOMED!! I can go away sure, but I want to keep a close lookout on him too! What should I do?!" I exclaimed.

Izuru thought about it for a moment before snapping his fingers. "I have an idea." He went into his room and soon came out with a few things. "Go change into this. Also, ditch the tie." He pushed me into the bathroom before I could say anything.

"What the heck...?!" I thought, staring down at what he gave me. A blue jacket, a hat, fake glasses and...yellow contact lenses...? Where'd he even get that?? Nevertheless, I put them all on, took off my tie and walked out of the bathroom. "Remind me again WHY you made me wear all this?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"Easy. I will send a text to Ibuki asking if an 'extra' person can come over, and knowing her, she will not say no. When the day arrives and the sun goes down, go somewhere alone with a window and climb out. You said that whatever you wear as of now will disappear when you change into a cat, but will reappear the next time you change back to a human. When you are out of the house and change into a human, just join the others as the way you are right now." He explained. "Ooookay??? How does that help?" I asked, dumbfounded at his long explanation.

He sighed irritably. "Basically you can keep a lookout of Nagito as a human without him ever knowing it is you. Just leave the house before the sun rises okay?" "But what if something goes wrong?" "Just call me if anything happens." He tried to reassure. I sighed. "Well... Better than anything..." I said, shrugging.

"Anyways, I need to go now. Thanks Izuru." I said, hugging him tightly. "Ah! Um..." He probably wasn't used to the contact after such a long time. I pulled away and smiled. 

_"See you around bro."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/319085636-the-neko-by-my-side-chapter-8-plans


	9. Playing Pretend

Hajime's p.o.v.

The night of the slumber party arrived and as I thought, Ko wanted to bring me over. "Meow..." "Come on Hinata-kun!" Ko was practically dragging me over to Ibuki's house.

*When they're at the house*

"Heyyooo Nagito!!!" She hugged him tightly and invited him inside. Everyone else was already there before us. "Oh yeah, one more thing, a friend of Izuru is coming over later." I twitched. "Oh boy..." "Really? What's their name?" "It's a guy. His name is Hiroki Kaneko."

I shrugged. "Guess that's an okay name Izuru..." I thought. Everyone spent a little while setting down their stuff while I watched them quietly. At the same time, I wandered around looking for an empty room with an open window outside, and thankfully I found one.

*Coming close to dusk*

"Alrighty! What game should we play next?" Ibuki asked. "Hmm...." They began thinking, and I took this chance to sneak out of the house through the open window of the room. And just at that moment, I turned back into myself. 

I looked at myself. I looked exactly the way I looked like yesterday when Izuru gave me those clothes. I stood in front of the front door nervously. "You only get one chance at this... DON'T screw it up." I thought. I knocked on the door. 

After a while, Ibuki opened the door. "Oh hey there!! You must be Hiroki-san!! Come on in!!" She grabbed my arm and dragged me inside. All eyes landed on me and I grew extremely nervous. Especially when Ko looked over at me. "U-Um... Hi..." I said, waving slightly. "Hey!" "Oh hi there." "Oh so that's him!"

I sat next to Ko and looked away, hoping he doesn't notice about me. He smiled at me. "Hello there! My name's Nagito Komaeda! Nice to meet you!" I slowly turned my head to him. "Um... Hiroki Kaneko..."  He laughed. "Hehe, you seem pretty nice." He complimented. 

I noticed Ibuki staring at us weirdly and raised an eyebrow. 

_"Ibuki has an idea! Let's play truth or dare!!!"_

I smiled a little bit. "Well... I guess I outta enjoy my time as of now..." I thought.

Third persons p.o.v.

"Okee dokee! Mahiru truth or dare!!" Ibuki yelled, pointing at Mahiru. "Uhhh truth?" "Have you ever taken any lewd pictures~?" Mahiru looked at her angrily. "No. Gundam truth or dare?" He suddenly stood up. "Dare!" "Hmm... Dare you to put one of your hamsters on the ceiling fan." He glared at her but did it anyways, only to get it down a moment later. "My turn. Akane. Truth or dare?" "Truth." "Hmm...."

Hajime's p.o.v.

After a little while, it finally came to Chiaki's turn to ask Ko. "Nagito, truth or dare?" "Um... Dare?" "I dare you to umm.... Dare you to....Uhh...." She really didn't know what to dare him, until Ibuki whispered over to her and her eyes brightened up.

_"I dare you to kiss Hiroki for a full 10 seconds!!"_

My eyes widened as soon as I heard that. "W-Wait! I don't want to get dragged into this!!" I yelled. "Well Nagito?" The two girls smirked at him. I looked over and saw that he was blushing deeply. "K- Um... Nagito...?" It was weird calling him by his first name, even if I'm like this...

"H-Hey... You aren't seriously considering it are you?!" I exclaimed. "W-Well... I uh..." I stared at him in disbelief. "Honestly..." I slumped down. "What am I gonna do...?" I thought.

Just then, I noticed Ko crawling on all fours towards me. I backed up.

_"You know... It's kinda weird..."_

_"W-W-What is...?"_

_"I've only just met you... But it feels like I've known you forever ago..."_

_My eyes widened._

_"U-Um..."_

_"...As awkward as this is going to sound... You seem so familiar that it almost seems attractive..."_

_I kept crawling backwards until my back hit a flat surface. I was backed up into a corner with nowhere to run._

_"...But either way... Sorry about this."_

_His lips came in contact with mine. My eyes fell shut as I heard someone yell: "Someone start the timer!!"_

_His warm lips on mine, the touch was fleeting. And even though it was only for 10 seconds, it seemed like forever._

_Something in my heart fluttered but stung at the same time._

"Aaaaalriiiighty!!! You guys can stop now!!" Akane yelled. Ko moved away from me and looked away. I could tell he was blushing, cause I was too.

_"Although... Why did my heart sting so much...?"_

Right at that moment, I saw a small hint of sun peek from the window and gasped. "I-It's already dawn?!" I got up and hurriedly left the house. "Ah! Wait! Hiroki!" I heard Ko yell in the distance. 

I ran about 8 feet away from the house when I got shorter again. "Darn it..." I glanced around at myself in my cat self. "Guess I should go back..." I thought sadly and headed back. I hadn't gone too far when I saw Ko running towards me. "Hiroki?!" I twitched at that.

"H-Hinata-kun?! Where have you been?! I haven't seen you since the slumber party started!! Speaking of..." He suddenly yawned, covering his mouth. "Wow... He only realizes he's tired NOW?!" I was rather upset and simply walked back to his house.

"Ah! Wait Hinata-kun!!" Ko ran after me. Jeez... And after he pulled off such a daring stunt like that... He doesn't know who I am! So in his eyes, he's kissing a stranger for God's sake!!

I stormed into the house and curled up on the couch, closing my eyes while frowning.

Nagito's p.o.v.

What's wrong with Hinata-kun? I've never seen him act like that... He seems so mad... But he's a cat... Ugh... What should I even do?!

I went into the house to see him curled up on the couch. "Hinata-kun..." I stroked his fur, suddenly, he pounced up and hissed loudly at me, making me retreat my hand in shock. "Hinata-kun!!!!" I scolded. He turned away and left to somewhere else. I looked down at the ground and sighed.

"Great... Now I have a have a horrible bond with my own PET." I facepalmed myself and went to bed.

I slumped down on my bed and screamed onto my pillow. 

_"Now what?"_

I lifted my head up and stared at nothing.

_"Hiroki Kaneko... Why does he seem so familiar..?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hajime's fake name actually has a joke in it XD Comment below what you think it is! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/320256083-the-neko-by-my-side-chapter-9-playing-pretend


	10. Rain

Nagito's p.o.v.

I woke up, rubbing my eyes and yawning. "Right... Time for school!" I thought, hopping out of bed to get ready for school. I practically ran out of the house, but I halted. I turned back and looked at Hinata-kun, who was sleeping on the couch.

I sighed sadly and stroked his fur. "I wonder if I should take him with me to school..." I thought about it for a while, but then decided to do it. I picked him up carefully and put him inside my bag and zipped it up, but not completely. I walked to school, careful not to wake him up.

*Time skip to after school*

I packed up my bags, Hinata-kun had woken up in the middle of class and was sitting and waiting for me to finish. "Are you hungry Hinata-kun?" I asked. He nodded quietly. Strange... He wasn't meowing as much... Hm...  I pondered about this for a bit, but shook my head. "Let's go get some fish Hinata-kun!" I skipped to the supermarket with him.

*Later*

I giggled as I watched Hinata-kun drool at the sight of all the fish. "I'll buy this one please." After I paid and got the fish, we headed back home. As soon as we were home, Hinata-kun mewed loudly and pounced around. I giggled and dumped the fish in front of him. I watched him happily as he munched on the fish hungrily.

I went back to my room and began to do my homework. After about an hour, I finally managed to finish all of it. "Alright, now then..." When I was packing up my stuff, I noticed something. "Wait... Where's my textbook?!" I was panicking slightly as I searched around my house. "Oh no... I must've left it in the school!!" I thought. I ran over to the door, preparing to leave the house.

"Hinata-kun, I left my textbook at school, I'll be out for a bit. Be back soon!" After I informed him of that, I ran out of the house, leaving behind my jacket in a hurry.

Hajime's p.o.v.

I stared as Ko left and tilted my head. "Wait... He didn't take his jacket with him!" I frowned and looked outside the window and saw that the sun was slowly setting and sighed. "It's gonna be dark by the time he comes back! He might get cold out there..." I thought to myself. I sighed and changed back to 'Hiroki Kaneko'. "...Guess I should go huh..." I went to go outside, but stopped when I saw dark clouds over the horizon. "Are you fucking kidding me?" I sighed irritably and went to fetch an umbrella.

"Jeez Ko. You're giving me a real headache." I thought and left the house. As I thought, halfway to the school, it began to drizzle, not long after, it became an extremely heavy downpour and it had to open up the umbrella. I ran quickly, my feet splashing through the puddles, through the misty rain and a few people, who glanced over at me for a moment.

When I got there, I looked around. "Huh... He isn't here... He couldn't have gone far..." I thought and went away, going to look for him. I passed by a crowd of people, but paused when I saw a tuff of white hair pass by. I glanced back, and sure enough, it was Ko.

I walked over to him. He was looking down at the ground as he walked. His hair was soaking and his clothes were completely drenched in water. "Hey." I tapped his shoulder, making him look up, he seemed surprised when he saw me. "H-Hiroki? What are you doing here?" I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. "Uh... Just went to a friend's house... Didn't expect it to rain. What're you doing here?" Ko looked down and clutched a book in his hand, making me frown.

Without a word, I covered him with the umbrella. He looked up at me in shock. "W-Wha-?" "You're gonna get sick like that. Come on." I grabbed his hand and yanked him under the umbrella. "Ah! You shouldn't-!" "Shut up. This is my choice." He looked down and smiled.

He kept quiet and followed me in the dark rainy night. We stopped at his house. "Alright, I'll be going no-" As I turned to leave, something grabbed my wrist, making me turn over. Ko was gripping my hand, quite tightly might I add. "What is it?" I asked. "Could you...stay with me for a little while longer...?" I tilted my head at him. "You mean...stay in your house for a while?" He nodded vigorously.

I looked up at the sky, it was still extremely dark. "As long as I don't stay when the sun rises, I should be fine." I thought. "Meh. Okay." I agreed. Ko's face seemed to lighten up at that. He opened the door and gestured me inside.

I looked around the house, pretending to be surprised and as if I've never been in it. "...Nice house...!" I finally said. "Ahaha, I'm so glad you think so!" I rolled my eyes at that. "Seriously Ko, I've been here a whole bunch of times!" I thought. "A-Anyways, you should go change..." I pinched the bridge on my nose and sat on the couch.

"Ah, right!" Suddenly, he rolled up his shirt, trying to take it off. "H-Hey wait-! N-Not here-! I don't want to see you-!" I turned away, blushing furiously. Ko looked at me innocently, then glanced down at himself and smile. "Oh, sorry about that! I'll go change in the bathroom then." He walked off and I finally sighed in relief. "Good lord..." I thought. "U-Um... Hiroki!!" I looked up curiously and went to the bathroom door. "Yeah?"

_"I um...forgot to take any other clothes in here with me..."_

At that, my face turned red again. "A-A-Are you serious?!" "Y-Yeah...C-Could you...get my pyjamas from my room? It's on my bed..." I went into his room and found his pyjamas. I went back to the bathroom door and knocked on it. "U-Um..." I looked away.

I heard the door creak open and my face heated up even more. The pyjamas was taken from my hand and the door slammed shut again. "T-T-Thanks..." I walked away and sat back down on the couch. After a little while, Ko finally came out of the bathroom in his pyjamas. He sat down with me and sighed. "Sorry..." "It's fine..." There was a very awkward silence between us, before I finally decided to break it.

"Um...Nagito..." "Yeah?" "Remember that night...where we were playing truth or dare?" I looked over to him, and sure enough, his face was bright red. "Y-Yeah... I remember..." "Why'd you.....kiss me...?" Okay, I immediately regret my decision, I think I just made it even more awkward...

Then, I heard a light chuckle.

_"You just reminded me so much of someone... I just couldn't help myself..."_

I turned to him. "What do you mean?" Ko stared up at the ceiling and sighed. "The way you look, the way you talk, the way you act, even the way you smell! It's all just like someone I adored in my life..." I raised an eyebrow. "Aaand where are they now?"

_"...They're dead..."_

I twitched at that. "I never got over their death... It's so horrible... I was planning to confess to them on the day they died. Don't you think that's pitiful?" I turned away from him. "When I saw you... It didn't take me long to see how similar you and them are... I really couldn't help myself. I'm really sorry if you hate me now..."

I looked at him and sighed. "Come here..." Ko refused to go near me, so I pulled him over into a hug.

_"I could never hate you. Don't ever forget that."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/322860301-the-neko-by-my-side-chapter-10-rain


	11. Festival

Hajime's p.o.v.

I talked to Ko during the night. He sometimes talked about things I already know about, in which case I had to play along and pretend I didn't know. Sometimes he'd mumble gibberish and I'd stare at him.

"Hey Hiroki..." "Hm?" I turned to him. "What is it?" Ko seemed nervous. "Do you want to...hang out like this? In the day time?" I twitched  at that. "Sorry... I can't..." I felt bad for refusing him. "Ah! If you think it's the next few days it isn't! It's just... Do you want to hang out when you're free?" I turned away from him, my mind trying to come up with some form of lie.

"Sorry but... This isn't a matter of whether I'm free or not..." "Huh?"

"I...can't go out in the day... You'll only see me at night... I'm really sorry." My heart ached from that. I was telling half a truth and half a lie, and it hurts. Ko looked down at his feet, thinking.

_"Then... I guess I'll just have to stay up at night to be with you!"_

His statement caught me off guard and I turned to him. "What?!" I exclaimed. Ko smiled at me. "I like spending time with you. I think it's worth a night of sleep." He said. I looked away and sighed. "Jeez... What a handful..." I mumbled to myself.

"Actually Hiroki, there's a festival coming up soon and I was wondering if you'd like to go with me." Ko asked. I sighed. "I told you, I can't go our during the da-" "The festival starts in the evening silly!" Ko giggled while I pouted. "So how about it?" "Um.... Okay sure I'll go." "Great! Here. This paper has all the information you need to know! Where is it, what to where and so on." He explained. I shrugged and read through it.

_Come to the Japanese Cultural Festival this Friday 5:00 p.m. for a great experience!!!!_

I  scanned through everything quickly. "Seems interesting." I commented. Ko seemed to be happy with my reaction. Right at that moment, I noticed the sun begin to rise and gasped. "I need to go now Nagito bye!" I said quickly, rushing out the door. "H-Huh?! Wait Hiroki!!!"

I ran a few blocks from the house and changed back. "That was close..." I thought.

_"Festival huh..."_

*Time skip to Friday*

Nagito's p.o.v.

I was humming to myself as I packed my bag, preparing to leave school. "You seem pretty happy dude. What's up?" Kazuichi asked, walking up to me. "Oh, I'm just excited for the festival later!" I said, smiling. "Cool! Me too. We're all going to it anyways! I'm going with Miss Sonia and Ibuki! Speaking of, are you bringing anyone with you?" At that, my face softened into a happy smile.

_"Yep. I'm bringing Hiroki."_

Kazuichi's eyes widened in surprise. "I see... Well, you two have fun there. Maybe we'll run into each other! See ya Nagito!" With that, he vanished out of the class. I laughed softly and carried my bag out of the class, out of the school.

"Hinata-kun!!" "Meow?" He pounced over to me, meowing happily. I patted his head, making him purr and went off. "I'm really excited! Better go get ready!" I thought, shutting myself in my room.

*Later*

I just went with a long sleeved green shirt and some black jeans and sneakers and left the house. I waited patiently at the front entrance of the festival venue, waiting for Hiroki. "Where is he...?" I checked my watch. 5:30 p.m. "Huh... I guess... He couldn't make it..." I sighed sadly and turned to finally go inside.

_"Nagito!!!"_

I turned around curiously and gasped. A very out-of-breath Hiroki ran up to me, panting and gasping. "Thank God I made it in time..." He managed to say through his rapid breathing. I smiled happily. "I'm glad... I thought you weren't coming." I said. He finally regained his breath and stood up straight. He held out his hand to me.

_"Shall we go?"_

I smiled and took it, and we both went inside.

*Later*

"You can do it Hiroki!!" I was cheering Hiroki as he held a baseball in his hand, focusing on the target. "PINGPINGPING!!!!" "YEEEEEEEEEES!!!!" Hiroki jumped around in victory as the man handed the stuff toy rabbit to me. I snuggled into it. "So fluffy wuffy~" I said.

Just then, some music rang out throughout the area, catching our attention. "What's that?" Hiroki asked, looking around. "It's coming from over there!" I said, pointing further up. We ran over to see quite a sight.

There was a bunch of lit up lanterns dangling in the air around a wooden octagon like platform. There were two streams of water circling the octagon, one at the outer ring and one slightly more inside the octagon platform. There were small stones to step on in the streams of water. People were dancing happily to the music on the platform, just having fun.

My face broke into a smile and I turned to Hiroki. He was smirking at me, already knowing what I wanted. He pulled my arm over to the platform and we danced to the beat of the music.

Suddenly, Hiroki grabbed my arm and spun me around, making me dizzy. I stumbled slightly and pouted at him while he laughed. "Hirokiiiii!!!" I  whined, crossing my arms, but I had to smile at how much fun we were both having. "Hahaha!" Hiroki slipped out of his sneakers and jumped onto one of the stones. "Eh?! Hiroki!!"

Just then, he skimmed the bottom of his foot on the surface of the water, then stepping onto the next stone with his other foot. He did the same thing over and over again, alternating what his foot did. I stared at him.

_"This... Why does this feel so familiar to me...?"_

_"Hinata-kun! Don't play around in the rain like that! We're high school students!!"_

_"So? There's no rule saying we can't play in the rain! Come on Ko!"_

_The brunette laughed as his bare foot skimmed across the surface of the puddle._

_Nagito looked at him as he stood under the roof of the entrance of the school building, keeping him dry._

_"Ko, come onnnn~!!!" The boy in the rain whined. "No! I don't wanna get wet!!!" "No fuuuun...."_

_Nagito sighed._

_"If I get sick, I'm blaming you."_

_He stepped out into the rain, shutting his eyes tightly as he felt rain pitter patter on his hair and body._

_"Ko~"_

_He opened his eyes, only to see his best friend centimeters from his face. He was grinning widely and leaned forward, booping their noses._

_"Boop."_

_"Hinata-kun!!!!!!!"_

I looked down at the ground.

_"....I must be halluc_ _inating..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/325345071-the-neko-by-my-side-chapter-11-festival


	12. Unknown Confessions

Hajime's p.o.v.

I laughed happily as I splashed around the water when I saw Ko looking down at the ground and stopped. "What's wrong Nagito?" I hopped out of the stream of water and walked over to him. "Hey~! Nagito!!!" I waved my hand in front of his face. He blinked and stepped back, surprised at what I did. "You were spacing out a bit. Is something wrong?" I asked. He shook his head. "No... Just... I got reminded of something..." I flinched at that. Does it have to do with something I did?

"Well... Now that I've brought you back to Earth..." I said while putting on my shoes and stood up. "You haven't been dancing or having fun that much, so..." I held my hand out to him. 

_Well, since I'm Hiroki right now, I should try to have fun with Ko. Even though he doesn't know who I am._

_"Do you want to dance with me?"_

He stared at me in surprise and his cheeks turned pink. I laughed at how cute he was in that state. He whined. "But..." I looked up. "Hm?"

_"S-Sure... I'd love to..."_

I was a bit taken aback at that. I expected him to whack me on the head or refuse me. I didn't think he'd take me seriously. But... Since he is....!

I took his hand and pulled him over close to me. "Hehe, you're blushing~" I teased. He pouted. "Who wouldn't in this situation?" "Some maniac probably." I joked. I intertwined our fingers together and pulled him along.

Our 'dance' was basically just me pulling him around and twirling us around in circles, a bit how people dance in a fancy ball or something. It was weird, but fun to try. I finished it off by playfully yanking Ko off, making him spin around and around until he fell on his butt. I laughed as he pouted.

_"Don't do that Hinata-kun!!"_

I instantly stopped laughing, and the atmosphere changed. Ko realized what he said and clasped a hand over his mouth. "I-I'm sorry! I-I meant Hiroki!! Oh jeez oh God..." He was muttering to himself again. My eyes softened and I walked over to him. "He doesn't know who I truly am. To some extent...." I figured.

"What happened?" I asked. "N-No... You just...remind me of someone. He's not here anymore though..." I raised an eyebrow at that. "Wanna go somewhere else and talk about it?" He nodded and got up. We walked around the area for a while before I spotted a fountain.

We sat down together at the ledge of the fountain, it was quite large actually. "So... Who is 'Hinata-kun'?" I asked, trying to pretend like I didn't know. "Well um... How should I put this um um um...." I could tell that Ko was nervous by the way he kept fidgeting around and mumbling to himself. But I was patient. So I waited. Waited until he was ready to tell....'Hiroki'.

Finally, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them, turning to me.

_"Hinata-kun was-is still. My best friend."_

I twitched at that.

"What does he mean 'is still'? He should think I'm dead right?"

_"And..."_

"And? There's more?"

_"...My...crush...."_

I literally had to bite my tongue to prevent myself from yelling. But in my mind.

"WHAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!??!"

I looked at him, surprise on my face. Ko laughed.

_"You seem pretty calm. I had a crush on him for the longest time. Ever since he became friends with me. But I never got the chance to tell him."_

My mind was struggling to keep up with what was going on.

Ko had a crush. ON ME?!?!?

I'm not shocked by the fact that he's gay I'm perfectly fine with that!

I'm questioning why, out of all the people in his life, why'd he choose to have a crush on me?! I don't see any part of me that might make someone fall for me, especially not another guy!

_"Life has a cruel way of working you know?"_

I turned to him. "What?"

_"On the day I finally got the guts to tell hum how I feel. A car! Just decides! To RAM. HIM. OVER!!!"_

_All at once, he began to laugh and cry at the same time._

_"I-I can't- H-He-!" Almost as if in reflex, I pulled him over to me into a hug, patting his back and trying to soothe him._

_"Shh... It's okay. It's okay." I whispered while he cried on my jacket._

_"I won't forget him."_

_"Hm?"_

_"Even after he died, even when people told me to move on, I didn't. I swore I would love him and only him. No one else. And it hurts..."_

_"I was constantly reminded of his death to keep that promise. One I made to myself."_

_Ko looked up at me._

_"It hurts even more when you're around."_

_I twitched._

_"I...hurt you...?"_   
  
_He chuckled._

_"You hurt me, and make me happy at the same time..."_

_Ko looked up at me, his eyes were closed, tears streaming steadily on his face, but he was smiling happily._

_"You remind me so much of Hinata-kun. It reminds me of his death, but when I spend time with you, it feels comforting and lovely, it reminds me of the good times I had with him before he died."_

_I looked down._

_"I'm sorry..."_

_He shook his head._

_"No. I'm happy like this." He smiled at me. It was sincere._

_The good mood died._

_"If...If Hinata-kun was still alive, and he was hearing all of this... How would you react...?"_

_He blinked._

_"It'd be awkward. REALLY awkward. But... I think I'd be happy, sorta."_

_I laughed at that._

_"...If I told you that I wasn't the person you're looking at, what would you say?"_

_Ko looked down and frowned._

_"...I'm...not sure... I guess it depends on who you really are."_

_"......I see...."_

Eventually, Ko stood up and held his hand out to me. "Come on. It's almost time!" He said. "For what?" I asked, taking his hand and getting hoisted up. He smiled. 

_"You'll see~ But first, I want to find a good spot!"_

With that, he dragged me off to who knows where. We reached a big flat patch of grass. I looked around and saw quite a number of other people sitting on the ground as well, which made me curious. "What's going on Nagito?" I asked, turning to him. He smiled slyly at me, not letting go of my hand.

"What is going-" He pulled me down and made me sit down on the patch of grass, he sat along with me. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Seriously. What the heck is going on?" I asked, slightly irritated. "Just be patient, and look up at the sky." He responded. I sighed and did what he said, tilting my head, staring at the dark night sky. Suddenly, there was a loud 'BANG!' Making me jolt, and something shot up to the sky.

_Fireworks._

They each exploded into a variety of beautiful colors and sometimes glistening effects. I could only gape at the sight. Even though I was looking at the sky, I could tell that Ko was looking at me, smiling. That made me smile too.

_"Guess today wasn't so bad after all..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/327281403-the-neko-by-my-side-chapter-12-unknown-confessions


	13. Human Once More

Hajime's p.o.v.

I woke up, yawning. "God, what time is it...?" I rubbed my eyes and looked up. I was on a field of grass and the sun was up high in the sky.

.............

Wait.

I looked at myself.

I'm still a person.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Okay, probably not the first reaction I should've had but STILL. I got up and ran off to see where I was. It looks like I was still on that field where the fireworks were. 

"Hm, maybe Ko went home?" I thought. "But... Who should I go to right now?" I stopped walking and thought about it. 

Izuru.

I sped off down the streets to his house. I was pretty out of breath by the time I reached there, but I pounded on the door. "Izuru!! Izuru!!" I shouted loudly. Suddenly, the door swung open to reveal an EXTREMELY angry Izuru, with a shit load of bed hair. "What do you wa- Hajime?!?! But it's-!" He turned to the sky and saw the  sun was high in the sky.

"It IS me! I don't know how but I'm still a person even in the daytime!!" "Wait... What about Nagito? He's gonna be wondering where the cat you is!!" The realization struck me and I gasped. "W-What are we gonna-?!" 

_"Jeez, I'm gone for 2 minutes and this happens? Honestly."_

 It's them again. "What's going on?"

_"Another prize from me to you for doing a job well done. Nagito's quite happy and content, though I wouldn't say he's satisfied. The 'cat' you doesn't exist in Nagito or his classmates's minds anymore. Except this guy, since he knows your secret."_

"Wait... So, I can be a person all I want now?!" I said. 

_"Not exactly. You still have the ears and tail. But that's better than anything."_

I sighed. "What happened?" Izuru, who was still confused, asked. "I can be me in the day and night now, but I still have the ears and tail. Can I chill in your house?" He smiled.

_"Stay as long as you wish."_

I slumped on the spare bed on the lower floor, thinking. "What should I do now? I'm a person..." "Hey Hajime." I looked up at my brother. "Hm?" "You said to turn back into a human completely, you have to get closer to Nagito right?" He said. I nodded. "But that's gotten tough now that I'm not a cat, well, completely a cat, anymore." "Why is that?" "As a cat, I could just crawl into Ko's bag and just go to school with him like that, or go off to his school myself. I can't get close to Ko because I'm not a part of his school! What should I do..." Izuru looked down and scrunched his face up in concentration.

"I'M a part of Nagito's school, maybe I could get the principle to get you in the school!" He said. I sat up on the bed and stared at him. "Can you though?" "Yep. I'm Ultimate Everything remember? I can convince the principle anytime." He seems pretty confident. I guess it wouldn't hurt. I shrugged. "Eh, fine. Today's a weekend so I'll go find Ko." I got up and left the house, waving goodbye to Izuru.

I walked across the streets, looking around when suddenly... "Growl~~!!!" I held my stomach. "Shit I'm starving..." I thought. I spotted a nearby cafe, but I couldn't go inside because I didn't have any money to spend. I sighed sadly and walked off. Just then, something grabbed my arm and yanked me over.

"Wha-?!" I turned to see who it was and gasped. "K-Nagito?!" I yelled. He looked at me in surprise and delight. "Ah, I hoped it was you. What are you doing here? I thought you said you couldn't come out in the daytime." He said. "I-I um..." I has to calm down, I can't blow my cover!!

"W-Well... Some things happened at home. Bad things. But... I guess it was partly a good thing since I could leave the house whenever I wanted now. Honestly though, I just needed to clear my mind out." Holy shit. I didn't know I could lie like that! Someone hand me an oscar award holy shit. Ko seemed to completely fall for the trick and nodded solemnly. "I see. Well, I'll respect your wishes if you don't want to talk about it." "T-Thanks..."

Right at that moment, my stomach decided to completely embarrass me by growling loudly. Ko giggled as my face turned bright red and I turned away. "Come on, let's go to that cafe over there. My treat." Ko said, pointing at the cafe from earlier. I looked up at him in shock. "W-Wait I-!" "Oh hush. I saw you earlier. Your pockets are empty." "I-I'll pay you back!" "No need. Come on." At that, Ko grabbed my arm and dragged me into the cafe.

"Woooow.... This place is fancy shmancy!" I commented, looking around. Ko smiled. "Glad you like it. I used to hang out with Hinata-kun all the time here. My eyes widened. Now I recognize this place. We used to order cakes here all the time, even though Ko disliked sweet things. "Sooo what would you like?" Ko asked me, going up to the cake section. I smiled widely and ran over, pointing straight at the orange cheesecake. Ko's eyes widened in shock, but he soon chuckled. "Oh well..." "Ah wait!" I said, making him look up at me. 

 _"Can I order something for you?"_   

He looked at me in surprise. "But I-" "Pleaseee??" I was pleading. I really wanted to have some fun with him. "W-Well... Okay..." "Thank you Nagito!" I peered through the glass and thought about it for a while. "I'll go find a seat for us." I heard Ko say behind me. "Let's see... If I remember correctly..." I chose the slice of cake and went off to sit with Ko, who found a nice spot close to the window.

"So, what did you pick?" Ko asked, curious. "Secret~" I teased. He giggled, but looked down sadly. The good mood died and I decided to just shut up.

_I guess I'm reminding him too much of my real self..._

Nagito's p.o.v.

Don't get me wrong, I loved company from Hiroki, but he acts so much like Hinata-kun, it's like I'm looking at a twin or something! "Hiroki, I've told you a lot about me these past few days, but you've never said much about yourself. Would you mind telling me a detail or two?" I asked, trying to start up a conversation. "H-Huh? But... Where should I even start??" He seemed perplexed, which made me smile. "Hmm.... How about your childhood and family?" "Um... Okay. Hm, let's see...."

We chatted for quite a bit until our cakes arrived. 

When I saw the cake Hiroki chose for me, I felt my eyes instantly sparkle with surprise and delight.

_Strawberry hazelnut._

Hiroki chuckled when he noticed my reaction. "Hehe, guess I chose right. Lucky me." He said. I nomed down on the delicious cake.

"How'd you know I love this?" I muttered through bites. 

"Well, I know you aren't much of a sweet lover so I chose something that isn't too sweet but is still absolutely delicious!"

"Ah I see well tha-"

I froze.

Wait a second....

_There's only one person out there who knows I dislike sweets._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, cliffhanger XD Sorry guys. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/330303958-the-neko-by-my-side-chapter-13-human-once-more


	14. Love

Hajime's p.o.v.

_"How did you know I disliked sweets?"_

I flinched at Ko's question. "Ah.. Um... You...just seemed like the type of person who doesn't like sweets...! Plus, I haven't seen you eat anything sweet before so... Um..." He glared at me, not buying a single word I said.

I'm so fucking screwed.

He got up from his seat and went over to me. "Listen Hiroki, I don't really know why you're lying to me, but there's only one person I've ever told that I hated sweets. You better tell me your connections with them." He was serious. "I-I..." Ko sighed and pulled away. "You're not telling... Are you?" I could only manage a shake. He looked down. "...Sorry for my harsh attitude... Maybe I'm just overthinking..." I sighed in relief. "It's fine... You shouldn't focus your mind on it for too long, it's gonna stress you out." I leaned towards him and used a finger to press against his forehead.

"You won't look nice with stress wrinkles."

Ko huffed and looked away. The atmosphere returned back to its cheery self, but I doubt that'll be the last time we discuss about this... God, I can't believe I made such a huge mistake! I have to be more careful.

Nagito's p.o.v.

I chewed on my cake, happy at the taste. Hiroki's right. I think I'm just being too conscious about Hinata-kun. Maybe I should learn to trust him a bit. It's just hard... I was daydreaming with the fork in my mouth when a clear whistle echoed through the cafe as the both of us turned our heads to the direction of the whistle.

It was a small group of girls, they waved at Hiroki, making me twitch.

_They were flirting with him._

Some blew kisses, one of them even pulled their skirt up slightly, almost making me gag. I think I just lost my appetite... "Uh... Hiroki..." I said. He looked over at me. "Yes?" "Those girls..." "Oh. Pay them no mind." He turned back and sipped his hot chocolate quietly. "Aren't you bothered?" I asked. "Nah, they're not my type." He replied. "Oh? Who comes closest to your type?" I was honestly quite curious. What kind of girl does Hiroki like?

"Hmm...." Hiroki looked mischievously at me. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

_"That'd be you."_

I felt my face get hot and looked down. "B-But... I'm not a g-girl..." I stuttered. "Yeah so? You have all the traits I want. Gender doesn't matter to me." He said, smiling. "Traits? Are you just saying that because I'm rich?" I asked, glaring. This was one of the ways my relatives tried to take my heritage. Hiroki merely laughed and smiled.

_"Of course not. You're cute, smart, kind, trustworthy and wanting to trust others, you're fun to hang out with, considerate, selfless and selfish at the same time. You keep your promises and always know what to do. Besides, you're a good friend to me."_

I blushed at all his compliments. "I-I-I don't deserve such praises H-Hiroki..." "Oh hush." He stood up and offered me his hand. "Let's go." We made our way out of the cafe. I didn't realize that our hands were intertwined until Hiroki brought it up. "Your hands are rather cold, Nagito." "H-Huh?!" I jumped back and shook our hands off. "I was um..." Gosh, when is my face going to calm down?? It was so red as a tomato. Maybe even redder.

Hiroki chuckled. "I wanna show you something." With that, he grabbed my arm and pulled me along. "Ah! Hiroki!!" I exclaimed as we went. As we walked, I felt a sense of dread. Not in the sense that I felt that we were being followed, but a strange feeling of deja vu, like I've seen this before.

_"T-This is..."_

_"Come on Nagito!"_

_Hiroki ran ahead to cross the road in front of us._

_I gasped and grabbed his hand, preventing him from going._

_"No, don't."_

_He looked at me curiously._

_"But the surprise is-"_

_"NO!!!!!"_

_I clinged on his arm, practically hugging it, shaking my head vigorously._

_"No no no no! I'm not letting go! Let's use another route please!"_

_I remember this scenario. I'm not letting this happen again. I won't. Not when I'm just starting to recover! I forbid it!_

_Hiroki seemed to understand what was going on and sighed._

_"Alright, let's go another way."_

I sighed happily and let go of him. We walked together off the road and took a further one. Even though it took a little longer, I was more than happy to walk those extra meters. We finally arrived at the other side and continued walking.

*Later*

Now I was getting confused at Hiroki's actions. We've been waking for a while now. I hope Hiroki knows what he's doing. "Uh, Hiroki, are you sure you know what you're doing?" I asked. He looked over at me and smiled. "Trust me on this one." I nodded and continued following, dropping the subject.

After just a little while longer, Hiroki came to a sudden stop, making me look at him. "What's wrong?" I asked. "Before we continue, I need you to close your eyes." He said. I blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Why?" "Because... Please..?" I sighed. "Alright alright." I said, closing my eyes like he said. "No peeking~" I giggled at that. "I'm not~"

Hiroki guided me for a little while, until finally saying: "Okay, open them!" I slowly opened them, only to see a beautiful flowery garden in front of me. I could only gape at the sight. "Wooow...." I exclaimed. Hiroki smiled, pleased with himself. "Where are we?" I asked. "We're in my secret garden! I always come here to think. It's a pretty calming place." He said. Hiroki was right, this place gave off an immense peace for the mind.

The scent of flowers, pretty birds and butterflies flying by occasionally, the greenery, this place was perfect!

_But...._

_A boy pushed through some bushes as the sobbing grew nearer and louder._

_"Hello?"_

_"W-W-Who's t-there...?" There were more sniffling than there was with words._

_"Um... I heard sobbing and came here. Are you okay?"_

_"I-I-It's n-nothing..." "No it's not."_

_The boy bent down next to the other boy._

_"I'm alone... No one is there for me..."_

_"That's not true. I'm here."_

_He pulled him into a hug._

_"Come on, let's go to my house, you don't have to be alone there!"_

_With that, he helped the other stand up and they left the area._

".....How did you find out about this place...?"

Hiroki blinked. "Uh.... I've always liked to come here alone to think." "No, I mean how'd you know it was here in the first place?" "Actually, I found this place because of someone." "Did they lead you here?" "No... I...kinda just...found them here. I only just remembered this place a while ago, it's been a long time since I was here." I narrowed my eyes.

"I recognize this place, but I can't quite place my finger on it..." I said. Hiroki stared at me. "....I see... Well, while we're here..." Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled back, making me fall backwards. I squealed. We landed together on the ground, I had my back pressed up against his chest. "What the heck Hiroki!!!" I yelled, struggling to get out, but he held me tight.

"What is wrong with you?!" I huffed. Just then, I felt his warm breath ease over my neck and shuddered, blushing hard. "H-Hiroki..." "Hmm?" "...Get the fuck off me." I heard him laugh. "Nope." I sighed irritably. "God damn it..." 

_"Hey, you should calm down. I know how stressed out you've been lately."_

I looked down. He was right. I sighed and turned over, now facing him. He looked at me and smiled. 

_"Thanks. I needed that."_

I wrapped my arms around him and snuggled into his chest, hearing his heartbeat.

_"...I know I said I'd never break my promise but..."_

_"...Maybe I've already broken it, by falling for you..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/331542171-the-neko-by-my-side-chapter-14-love


	15. Confessions...?

Hajime's p.o.v.

I was lying on my bed, playing, or at least trying, to play flappy bird. I've rage quitted about 12 times by now. Eventually, I gave up, no good to be stressed over this. Izuru bought me my own phone, despite my protests, God I'm lucky to have him. 

"Hajime!!!! Get down here right now!!!" Speak of the devil. I got up and made my way downstairs. "What is it?" I asked. "I did it!!!" Izuru shouted, shaking me back and forth by the shoulder. "Calm down!! What did you do?!" I was slightly irritated and grabbed his hands, stopping him.

_"I got you into the school!!!!!"_

My eyes widened. "Are you serious?!?!" "Why would I lie about this?!?!" I hugged my brother tightly. "Thank you thank you thank you!!!" I yelled. Izuru laughed and pulled away. "You're Hiroki Kaneko, The Ultimate Friend."I smiled. 

"Now I'm one step closer to Ko and getting back to a person." I thought.

*Next day*

I woke up, bright as ever and went downstairs. "Don't forget your bag!!" Izuru, who was already waiting for me at the door, called. "Yeah yeah, I got it. Gosh you're like a mom!" I joked, running down and joining him, walking to school. "Am I in Ko's class?" I asked. "Yeah, you are." "Sweet!" "Haha, make a good impression okay?" I nodded. "Kay!" 

When we finally arrived at the school, I sent my goodbyes to Izuru and headed to my class. "Let's see here..." I muttered quietly and looked around. "Excuse me may I-" A hand was placed on my shoulder, making me turn around, only to come face to face with Ko, whose eyes widened. "E-Eh?!?!!?!?!" He shouted, pointing at me in surprise. I pretended to look surprised. "N-Nagito?? What are you doing here?!" "I GO to this school! What are YOU doing here?!?" "Alright alright, hush! We're attracting unwanted attention!!" I said, putting a hand on his mouth. He nodded and we went off to another room.

"So?" Ko said, still wanting answers. "Okay okay, I got a letter saying I was accepted into the school a few days ago as The Ultimate Friend, so here I am!" I explained. Ko nodded and sighed. "Which class are you in?" He asked. I showed him the letter and he gasped. "Y-You're in the same class as me!!!" I scratched the back of my head awkwardly. "R-Really? That's awesome! Can you lead me to your classroom then? I'm kinda lost." I said. "Alright." Ko grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

We reached the classroom. When I peeked inside, everyone looked over and gasped when they saw that it was me. "Woaaaah Hiroki! What're you doing here?!" Ibuki yelled, pouncing on me, knocking me to the ground. "Oww... Ibuki, I was accepted into the academy as The Ultimate Friend." I explained, pushing her off me. "Ohohoho!!! Goody goody! That's the best title for you!!" She said, finally getting off. I went over and sat down close to the window, right next to Ko. Soon, the teacher came in, introduced me to the class and began the lesson.

*After school*

Nagito's p.o.v.

"Hiroki, are you busy after school?" I asked, walking him to the gate of the school. He looked down. "Nope. Why?" He asked. I looked away. "U-Umm... Would you like to watch a movie with me?" My voice was barely audible and I was sure my cheeks were tinted. "Huh? Sure!" He agreed, making me turn to him and smile happily. "Really? Awesome! Come on!" He followed me to the cinema and we were deciding which movie we'd like to watch.

"What movie would you like to watch Hiroki?" I asked. "Um... I'm not sure, what would you like to watch?" He asked. "I'm fine with anything." "Okay, i guess i'll choose The Secret Life of Pets." I nodded and bought the tickets.

"Do you want to get some popcorn?" I asked. His eyes lit up and he nodded vigorously. "I want orange juice with that too." He added. My eyes widened. "Hm, Hinata-kun loved orange juice too..." I thought, looking down. "Is something wrong?" Hiroki asked. I shook my head. "No, let's go."

*Later*

We got some pretty god seats, and were now halfway through the movie. I felt something press against my shoulder and looked over. It was Hiroki. Aw, he fell asleep. I smiled at how adorable he was. "The movie must be boring... Oh well." I frowned at his glasses pressed up against my shoulder. "Isn't it uncomfortable?" I thought about it for a while and decided to take his glasses off his face and tuck it into his jacket pocket.

"There. All bette-" I froze when I saw his face, now without the glasses. 

_"H-Hinata-kun...?"_

_I shook my head._

_"N-No... That's impossible.."_

To take my mind off of it, I went back to watching the movie, trying hard not to think about him. 

*Later*

The movie finally ended. It was pretty good, shame Hiroki fell asleep halfway. "Hiroki! Hiroki!" I whispered softly, shaking him lightly awake. "Ngh..." He opened his eyes and looked up at me. 

_"I-It's that feeling again..."_

I looked away. "Um, the movie's over... You slept through it halfway." "Oh, I see." He touched his face and gasped. "W-Where's my-" "It looked uncomfortable so I took them off. They're in your jacket pocket." I explained. He hurriedly took them out and put them on. "Haha, t-thank God. I-I'm practically blind without them! Thanks Nagito!" He said, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah... Sure.." With that, we left the cinema.

"Hey Nagito." "Hm?" "Why'd you invite me to the cinemas? Sorry, it just seems strange and so out of the blue." I flinched. "A-Actually... I was really happy you're in the same school and class as me..." I said. "So? You know you can see me anyways after school and stuff." He said. Man, he's so dense...

_Just like Hinata-kun..._

_I took a deep breath and turned to him._

_He looked confused at me._

_"What's going on?"_

_I grabbed his shirt and pulled him over, our lips meeting._

_His eyes shot wide open, but he didn't pull away._

_"Hiroki, I love you."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/332179792-the-neko-by-my-side-chapter-15-confessions


	16. Self Hatred

Hajime's p.o.v.

_"Hiroki, I love you."_

I stared at Ko. "...He...loves me...?"

No.

He loves Hiroki. Not me.

I lowered my eyes.

_"...Why would you love someone like me...?"_

He leaned over and kissed me again, hugging me tightly, not letting me pull away.

"Mn..Nngh..." I finally managed to shove him off of me, panting, wiping away the remaining saliva. "Didn't I tell you? I'm not the person you're looking at." He shook his head. 

"I don't love you because of your looks, you're special. I'd love you no matter how weird you really looked."

..........

He doesn't get it...

He's talking to a DEAD person.

But I.....

I can't reject him. I can't reject my own best friend. I'm too nice to do something like that.

But can I keep saying a lie? Everything I'm doing right now is a lie.

_Should I....?_

I took his hand and dragged him to his house.

_I've made up my mind._

"H-Hiroki! What are you-?!" "Calm down, I won't do anything weird. Uh... Okay that's an understatement." I muttered to myself. "What?!" "Nevermind!!"

Once were safely in the house, I had to calm down and do this properly. "Alright. Just...TRY. Not to freak out. Kay?" I said. Ko raised an eyebrow at me. "Uhh...." I sighed. "Look... Ugh."

I took off the fake glasses, the yellow contact lenses. He stared at me, wide eyed. I took off the jacket, my cat tail unraveling itself and flicking around freely, and finally, my hat, my ahoge and cat ears sprang up together.

I didn't want to open my eyes, afraid of how Ko might react. There was no noise, I could practically hear my heartbeat beating through my chest! 

_Suddenly, something warm touched my cheek and I opened my eyes slowly._

It was Ko, he was crying. Great.

_"H-H-Hinata-kun...?"_

I laughed softly to myself.

_"Yeah.. It's me Ko. Heh. Guess you hate me for lying to you now... Oh well, I guess I des-"_

_My sentence was cut short by Ko knocking me to the ground in an embrace, kissing me on the lips as he went, crying._

_My eyes shot wide open in confusion._

"Mn..Nn..! Ko!" I pushed him off. He was still crying.

"Hinata-kun... Hinata-kun..." "What??" I huffed and looked away. Honestly, when was he gonna kick me out already? Now I went from upset to just annoyed. 

_"I love you Hinata-kun... I love you. I love you so much..."_

I blinked. "You're kidding..."

"Aw man, I would've really hated myself if I broke my promise to you! I had a suspicion but I didn't know it was you and then-"

"Wait wait wait!! You aren't even gonna question how I'm even alive right now?!"

"Oh I have a shit ton of questions! Just now right now! I'm too happy! But you have A LOT of explaining to do after this."

Well I was expecting this...

*Later*

After a really, REALLY long time of explaining things to Ko, who was taking up more time to process all the information. "So uh... I have to get closer to you if I wanna get rid of these." I explained, pointing at my cat ears. Ko giggled.

_"No. Keep them. I like them a lot."_

He touched the ears. I purred softly under the touch. It felt weird since no one's touched my cat ears. "S-Stop that..." I said, pushing his hands away. He laughed. "Sensitive?" "S-Shut up-!" "Hehe, that's funny. And it makes it all the more cute." I sighed irritably. "Oh well..." I leaned on Ko's shoulder and fell asleep.

Nagito's p.o.v.

"O-Oi-! Hinata-kun! Get off please!" I tried to push him off, but he wouldn't budge. "Sorry. Neko Hinata-kun's tired. Not gonna move." He mumbled. I sighed.

_"You haven't even given me an answer yet..."_

*After a while*

"Hey Hinata-kun... It's getting late, come on." I shook him gently, but he refused to open his eyes. I smirked. 

"Do you want me to reenact a scene from sleeping beauty then?"

At that, he opened his eyes. "Don't you dare. I've had enough." He got up and walked off. "Ah! Hinata-kun! Wait!" "You said it was getting late. Besides, I'm staying with Izuru. So no fear dude." With that, he left.

I sighed sadly. "Oh well... I expected as much. Hinata-kun hasn't changed much at all..." With that, I decided to go to bed now.

*Next day*

Hajime's p.o.v.

I looked up at the ceiling. "Man... Only one day in the school and I'm already out again. There's no reason for me to go to school anymore." I thought. Izuru popped his head into my room. "Need anything?" "Nah." "Have this." He suddenly tossed something over to me. "Hey wha-" I caught the object.

"A cell phone? Why?" "Uh duh, since Nagito knows your secret, you need to have some other way of communicating with him when you can't be with him to strengthened your bond. That's what you're after isn't it? Plus, your old phone broke." He asked. "Yeah." I lowered my eyes.

_"That's the only thing that matters..."_

I sighed and began to set up my phone, adding numbers, setting it to my liking, everything. "Right, now then..." I phoned Ko up, wanting to surprise him. "Hello? This is Komaeda Nagito speaking. How may I help you?" "Hey Ko!" "Wha- Hinata-kun! Why are you calling me?" He seemed shocked. I laughed. "I got my own phone! Now we can chat all we want." I said. "Awesome! Can we text then?" "Sure." 

*Later*

Lucky boi (Nagito) & OJ luver (Hajime)

Lucky boi: Hey Hinata-kun! ^^

OJ luver: Sup.

Lucky boi: Are you busy right now?

OJ luver: Not really.

OJ luver: Why?

Lucky boi: I wanted to ask you something.

OJ luver: What is it?

Lucky boi: Are you just with me because you want to change back?

I flinched at the message.

OJ luver: What do you mean?

Lucky boi: When you finally get close enough to me and change back fully into a person. Are you just going to leave?

I didn't know how to respond to that. I mean, yeah, he was my best friend, but this WAS the main reason why I'm doing this. I was given a second chance at life, I can't screw it up. But....

_If I have to sacrifice my own best friend, and the person who's loved me since we met, just for my own life..._

_Would it really be worth it...?_

I didn't respond to the message, and simply switched off my phone, lying on the bed. "This sucks..." I thought.

_My phone started vibrating. I looked to it that it was Ko and hung up._

_Another call. I hung up again._

_Another one. I hug up again, silencing my phone._

_My phone vibrated. I turned away from it._

_It kept going. I covered my ears with my pillow._

_"Stop calling me. I don't want to face you, or hear your voice. Leave me alone."_

_Another call._

_"Please...."_

_"I don't want to bear the guilt I have around you. My best friend, and the one who loves me."_

_"I don't want to bear any guilt of making you upset. Especially since you've suffered when I was gone. I don't want you to suffer because of me. Even when I'm alive."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck at angst :P. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/332592044-the-neko-by-my-side-chapter-16-self-hatred


	17. Left Alone

Nagito's p.o.v.

The school day went on as usual, but I felt lonely without Hinata-kun. "He still hasn't given me any kind of answer to my confession..." I thought. I went back home, wondering what I should do. Just then, I noticed that I got a text from Chiaki. "Hey! You wanna play Gang Beasts with me, Mikan and Fuyuhiko?" The text read. I thought about it for a while. "Well... I guess it wouldn't hurt." I thought and texted her back. "Sure!"

*Later*

"Alright everyone it's Kittygamer247 here!" I heard Chiaki do her intro over the mic, guess she was recording a video. "I'm with my friends Fuyuhiko, Mikan and Nagito! And we're playing Gang Beasts!"

*Game mode, grinder*

Fuyuhiko: *Sucker punches Mikan in the face and knocks her to the ground*

Mikan: G-Gaaah!!

Nagito: Oh boy oh boy!! *Spams buttons*

Chiaki: Awww yeah!! *Kicks him right in the chest and knocks him out* 

Nagito: Shit! Oh fuck!

Fuyuhiko: Helping! Helping!! *Punches Chiaki and sends her flying right into the grinder*

Chiaki: Aw what?! Come on!!!

Nagito: Betrayaaaal!!! *One punch man's Fuyuhiko into the water* 

Fuyuhiko: What the fuck I helped you!!!! *Slams on the controller* Oh my God...

Nagito: *Laughs and picks up Mikan, tossing her into the grinder* Yeaaaah!!! *Wins*

*After a few more rounds*

Nagito's p.o.v.

"Alright! That's all for now! If you liked it, punch that like button, for more contents, go to my channel and subscribe! This is Kitty gamer 247 and peace out!" With that, Chiaki stopped her recording and sighed. "Welp, that's done." "That was fun." I commented, chuckling. "Hey Nagito, can I chat to you in private after this?" Fuyuhiko asked. "Uh sure I don't mind." I said and logged off.

Later, I got online again and went to text Fuyuhiko.

"Hey Fuyuhiko."

"Sup."

"So, what did you want to chat with me about?"

"You seemed a bit tensed up recently, is something up?"

I flinched.

"No, I think it's just you."

"Hm... You sure? There's nothing to hide."

"It's nothing really."

"If you say so. I'll see ya at school next week." 

I was glad that the conversation ended at that and sighed in relief. "....This matter is between him and me. I don't want anyone else getting involved." I thought and got up. "I should confront him, now or never." I thought, determined. I ran off to Izuru's house.

*Later* 

"Hajime? No, he went out." Izuru said. I sighed sadly. "Thanks anyways." I walked off, but I didn't go very far  when I saw a familiar face come my way. "Hinata-kun!!!" I ran over to him and hugged him tightly, he seemed caught off guard and pushed me away.

Hajime's p.o.v.

*Flashback*

"You sure?" "Yeah! I'll move away and maybe get into my own school, I won't have to bother you that much. And I think I can stand having cat features for the rest of my life." I said. Izuru narrowed his eyes at me. "I sense another reason why you're doing this... Are you trying to get away from something?" He asked, making me flinch. "N-No-!" Wrong. He hit the jackpot.

I wanted to get away from Ko. If I disappear from his life without a trace, I can start my own life, without having to even know whether I broke his heart or not. Yeah... I don't have to live with guilt if I do this! ""You can start moving into our old apartment tomorrow I guess..." My eyes lit up. "Really? Thanks Izuru!!" When I ran past him out of the house, I heard him say something to me.

_"If faith would go as far as raising you from the dead to be with Nagito, then running away is pointless."_

*Now*

My face turned pale when I saw Ko. "What is he-?!" I couldn't understand. Why was he here?! "Hinata-kun, where were you?" He asked. "N-Nowhere..." "Hehe, that's just like you. Do you want to come over to my house for a while?" No. I didn't want to be anywhere near you anymore. Please... 

_Wait._

_This is my chance..._

_I can break all connections with him._

"Leave me alone Ko." I snapped. His eyes widened at me. "H-Huh...?" Come on... "I don't want you anywhere near me! You're disgusting!!" I yelled loudly. I'm glad not many people were around. He seemed hurt. That's what I want... Yeah... That's all... "Don't show your face to me anymore!" I said again, and tried to leave.

Suddenly, Ko grabbed my hand.

_"...Does this have to do with my confession...?"_

I guess he's partially right. All these things started happening because of those three words. Alright, looks like I'm going all out.

"Yes! My life turned upside down because of you! I just wanted to live a normal second life again!!"

_"Then say it to my face!!"_

I stared at him in shock.

"W-What do you-?!"

_"Say that you hate me! Say that you reject my love confession! I won't leave until I hear those words from you!!!"_

Ko looked like he was on the verge of crying. "I-If you say those words, I-I'll leave y-you alone...." "But wouldn't that..." That would break his heart... I don't want that.. But if I do... I'll be able to live just fine.

"I-I-!!" 

_I can't say it._

I yanked my hand away from him and stormed off.

_"I told you! I don't want to see you anymore!!!"_

I stormed off into the house and ran straight up to my room and covered myself completely with my blanket. 

_"Don't hold it against yourself ahuhu..."_

_That voice..._

_"W-Why are you laughing?!"_

_"What?! Do you really think I was helping you all this time?! Don't make me laugh. I just needed you back to break Nagito."_

_"Why?!"_

_"For despair of course!!"_

_I glared. "Get out of my fucking head. NOW."_

_"Fine fine. I don't need you anymore anyways. Enjoy your new worthless life~"_

_I sighed and facepalmed myself. Right at that moment, I felt something brush over my head and back and touched my head._

_"I don't have cat ears or a cat tail anymore..."_

_I kept feeling about, but there was nothing._

_"Wait... Does that mean I can live a normal life?!"_

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_"....A...normal life...?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/333786550-the-neko-by-my-side-chapter-17-left-alone


	18. This Is Okay Too (END)

_"No good. It appears as though you'll have to wear glasses now. Are you alright with that?"_

_"Glasses....huh.... I remember wearing something like that once..."_

_"Excuse me sir?"_

_"Nothing. Go ahead."_

_"Right. Which frame would you like?"_

_The boy glanced around._

_"The red one please."_

*Time skip to 5 years later*

Nagito's p.o.v.

I sighed, sitting on my bed. It's been 5 years now. We've graduated from high school. A lot of my friends left to do their own thing, but some of us still keep in touch, like Chiaki. From what she's told me, everyone's got their own life now. Some of them have jobs, some of them got into a relationship, they've all been doing good for themselves.

And me? I'm just lying on my bed doing nothing. I have a job at a good company, but that's all. Not much to my life after that. Although...

I lifted the phone in my hand up to my face.

"It seems he changed his phone number and location. Wouldn't be surprised if he changed his name as well." I thought. I've never seen Hinata-kun since that day. There's a part of me that hates him, and a part that still hopes he returns my feelings.

"Ugh... I don't even know anymore..." I got up to go take a shower upstairs. I was living in my own apartment now. It was nice and simple, quiet and had a lovely view of sunrise and sunset. Suddenly, I heard my phone ringing and went over to pick up. "Hello? Nagito Komaeda speaking." "Uh... Hey Nagito, I know it's your day off today, but could you come to the office? There was an emergency, and I need you to fill in someone's space. Please?" They asked. I sighed. "Alright. But you're giving me extra." I said. "Alright. I'll see you then." With that, the call ended.

I sighed sadly. Sometimes it was like this, I always had to be prepared. I went to get my stuff and headed off. 

*Later*

Apparently, they wanted me to keep a hard drive until next week. It was really important as well, so I shouldn't lose it. I walked through the busy streets while looking down. "The streets are usually extremely busy this time of the day. It's easy to trip and fall." I thought. I took out the hard drive from my pocket and stared quietly at it. 

Suddenly, someone slapped bang right into me, and we both fell to the ground. "Ow..." "Oh my gosh! I'm really sorry!" A hand was given to me and I took it. "Really sorry si-" Right at that second, they stopped and suddenly ran off. "E-Eh?!" I looked up, only to see their figure running off. 

_They look...familiar..._

I shrugged and got up, leaving the streets. I went back home and slumped down on my bed. "Man... What's so important about the hard drive I wonder..." I thought about it for a while and rustled through my bag. "Wait a minute... W-What?!?!" 

_It wasn't in my bag anymore._

_Did I drop it somewhere?_

???'s p.o.v.

I looked at the hard drive and tilted my head curiously at it. "Why is this with me? I don't remember having it before..." I thought about where I could've gotten it. "Wait... Don't tell me..." 

_"How am I supposed to give it back to him?"_

*Next day*

I looked at the apartment in front of me. "She said he lives here right...?" I sighed and threw the hoodie over my head. I knocked softly on the door and waited quietly. Moments later, he opened the door.

_Wow... He really hasn't changed one bit..._

_Soft fluffy white hair, green grey eyes, pale skin. He really hasn't changed at all._

_Ko._

Nagito's p.o.v.

I went up to the door and opened it, surprised at the sight. It was a boy with a grey hoodie on him and red glasses. I couldn't see his face properly due to the hoodie and the fact that he's looking down. I don't think I've met him before...

"Um... May I help you?" I asked. He dug through his jean pocket and handed it to me, all without saying a word. "T-This is-!" It was the hard drive. "H-How did you-?!" He turned around and tried to leave, I reached over and grabbed his hand. "W-Wait-!" He looked weirdly at me and tried to shoo me off, I didn't let him though. "Can I, well... Get to know you?" 

Hajime's p.o.v.

I was really hesitant at first, but I knew I had to give in, cause Ko wasn't giving up. I pushed up my red glasses up and took off the hoodie. His eyes widened in surprise as I looked away. "Oh boy..." Suddenly, I felt something warm press up against me and looked up. 

Ko was crying, but he kept hugging me. "......." I just stared at him.

_"I'm so glad you're alright..."_

_I looked up at him._  

_"I don't understand... I left you for 5 years.."_

_He shook his head._

_"You're wrong. You just left me without an answer."_

_"W-What?!"_

_"I told you didn't I? I'll never leave you until you say to my face that you hate me. And you've never done that for the past five years."_

_" But I've-! Aren't you sick of me already?! Can't you find someone else?!"_

_"I always stick to what I say. I only love Hinata-kun. That's all."_

_"I-Well..." I sighed._

_"Hehe, Hinata-kun was always so indecisive. You always doubted yourself. That's why you ran away isn't it?"_

_"T-That's not-!"_

_"You doubted yourself didn't you?"_

_"...I...guess you could say that... I mean, I've been lying to you the entire time... How do I even-"_

_"You don't need to apologize. I already forgave you."_

_"Am I...even capable of making you happy anymore...?"_

_"Of course you are!"_

_Ko pulled away and made me look up to him._

_He was smiling. Come to think of it..._

_He's never smiled like this to others._

_"I never show this smile to anyone but you. And I never did it for 5 years."_

_I looked down._

_"Don't worry! Keeping a little smile to myself is nothing!" He hugged me tightly._

_"...So...are you going to run away again...?"_

_I looked up at him. He was looking down._

_"I can....wait a little longer if you're still unsure..."_

_My head shot up at him in surprise._

_"D-Do you really...think you'll be happy and satisfied with me?"_

_"Well, I don't know if I'll make you happy, but I'll try my best! And yes, I'm very sure I want to be with you."_

_Without thinking, I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and connected our lips together._

_Haha...._

_It's funny how much I missed this feeling..._

_"Hey Hinata-kun..." Ko pulled away._

_"Do I...get an answer or...?"_

_I chuckled._

_"Well, here's my answer then. Ko, I love you too."_

_His face brightened up and he squeezed me tightly while I smiled._

_"Ko says he's the happiest around me, I think I'm happy too whenever he smiles too..."_

_I smiled quietly to myself and hugged him back._

_"....I guess this ending's okay too."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So, this is the end of this story. To be honest, this isn't my best work... I'm pretty disappointed this honestly. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter regardless! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/334442923-the-neko-by-my-side-chapter-18-this-is-okay-too

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So, a new story's out! I actually got inspiration from some other book with the same title, and I literally just saw a glimpse of it and my brain automatically got that idea. Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter! You can also read this story on Wattpad! Link is right here: https://www.wattpad.com/305535370-the-neko-by-my-side-chapter-1-cat


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